Last updated 05:35, Friday, 03 October 2008

More than half of older people in the North West are cutting back on essentials such as heating and food in order to cope with the rising cost of living, a report has revealed.

Credit where credit’s due: Age Concern says hundreds of thousands of the poorest pensioners are missing out on the Government’s much-vaunted Pension Credit help

Statistics from Age Concern show one in 10 pensioners in the region – the second highest level in the country – have been forced into debt due to steep price increases.

Despite this, at least a third of pensioners in the North West are unaware of the Government’s flagship benefit for older people, Pension Credit, five years after its introduction.

Nationwide figures show that 49 per cent of pensioners are planning on cutting back their heating this winter and 52 per cent are buying less or poorer quality food due to the increased cost of living.

One in eight older people in the UK, and one in six of those over 80, have still not heard of Pension Credit.

Following the release of the figures Age Concern is calling for action to increase take-up of the benefit.

The charity is asking the Government to bring in a system of automatic payments and reform the benefits system to help the poorest pensioners cope with their escalating household bills.

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: “It is deeply wrong that billions of pounds in benefits cash is failing to reach the poorest pensioners at a time when thousands are having to cut back on essentials such as food and fuel.

“There can be no doubt that current measures to tackle the scourge of pensioner poverty are falling pitifully short of the mark.

“Pension Credit has the potential to lift hundreds of thousands of pensioners out of poverty, but will remain more flagging than flagship without urgent action to reform the faltering benefits system.”