New report lays bare the scale and impact of poverty amongst older people in Wales

A new report published today by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales lays bare the scale and impact of poverty amongst older people, and calls for action at both a Wales and UK level to provide greater support to individuals who are struggling financially.

The report – Older people and poverty in Wales – uses older people’s own words, captured through research and engagement, to highlight the realities of poverty in later life, while also drawing on the latest available data and statistics to illustrate why action is needed across a number of areas to prevent the significant harm created by this long-standing issue.

The report shows that 1 in 6 older people in Wales is now living in poverty, with certain groups affected much more severely. For example, 1 in 4 women living alone is experiencing poverty, while it is estimated that nearly half of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic households in Wales are affected. Many more older people have also found themselves struggling due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and rapidly rising prices, which have particularly affected people living on fixed incomes.

The report describes the impossible choices many older people are forced to make in their everyday lives – highlighting that 1 in 5 older people in Wales has had to go without heating, while a quarter skipped meals or ate less – and the serious consequences these can have on people’s health and well-being.

For example, exposure to cold affects a wide range of health conditions and also increases the risk of hypothermia, while poor nutrition can worsen chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

These risks are especially acute during winter, when cold weather and inadequate diets contribute to significantly higher mortality rates among older people, as well as huge, avoidable costs to the NHS – estimated to be over £40million a year.

The Commissioner is calling on the Welsh and UK Governments to deliver a range of action to ensure that older people living in poverty are better supported:

• Tackle the Pension Credit ‘cliff edge’, which means that people with incomes just a few pounds over the qualifying threshold miss out on support that can be worth thousands of pounds.
• Establish a new Resilience Fund for older people facing severe financial hardship who do not qualify for other forms of support such as Pension Credit.
• Increase investment in energy efficiency to reduce the harm caused by fuel poverty.
• Provide funding to local authorities to enable them to proactively identify older people who may be missing out on crucial financial support and encourage and support them to claim what they are entitled to.
• Streamline the applications process, with a particular focus on addressing the stigma often associated with claiming financial entitlements.

In the longer term, the Commissioner also wants to see action to examine and establish what level of income is needed for a dignified retirement that enables people to live and age well, which should be used as the basis to create a sustainable pension system that guarantees adequate retirement income.

The report also includes recommendations for local authorities, utility companies and internet service providers focused on increasing the support available to older people through expanding existing initiatives (such as social tariffs) and building on other community-based good practice.

Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Rhian Bowen-Davies, said:

“With finances and living costs very much in the spotlight again this week with the Chancellor set to deliver her budget in Westminster, my report is an important reminder of the stark realities faced by individuals living in poverty, an issue now affecting 1 in 6 older people.

“As the weather turns colder, older people across Wales will find themselves worrying about how they will be able to pay the bills, and many may soon be forced to choose between ‘heating or eating’, putting their health and well-being at serious risk, something that sadly now seems to have become normalised within society.

“In the days ahead, we will no doubt hear a great deal about how public spending could be reduced, where efficiencies could be made, the benefits of investing in key social areas.

“Yet there is likely to be relatively little discussion about the significant costs created by poverty, not only in terms of personal costs to individuals, but also the costs to the public purse, and the savings that tackling poverty could deliver.

“We know, for example, that cold homes cost the NHS in Wales over £40million a year, while people living in poverty often have a greater reliance on services such as health and social care services, resulting in costs that could be avoided.

“Investing in tackling poverty could unlock tens of millions of pounds that could be used to improve our public services and communities here in Wales.

“So in the immediate term, we need to see greater support for older people who are living in poverty or struggling financially, including those who do not currently qualify for other forms of support.

“This means action to make it easier for older people to claim the support they are entitled to, alongside tackling the stigma often associated with claiming entitlements. It means ending the Pension Credit cliff edge, which results in people missing out on support that can be worth thousands of pounds.

“It means significantly improving the energy efficiency of people’s homes, particularly important here given that Wales has some of the older housing stock in Europe. And it means ensuring that older people facing hardship can easily access emergency support when they need it.

“In the longer term, we need a national debate about what constitutes a sufficient income that would enable us to live and age well, which should be the starting point for creating a sustainable pension system that provides us all with adequate incomes when we retire.

“As Commissioner, I will continue to make the case for decisive, coordinated action at both a national and local level to tackle poverty, supported by powerful evidence based on older people’s lived experiences, to help create a fairer, healthier and more inclusive Wales.”

ENDS