19 per cent of older people still live below the official income poverty line. Help the Aged believes this is unacceptable. We want to change public policy to ensure that no older person is forced to live in poverty.
We also want to tackle the social exclusion which occurs when a combination of factors, such as poor housing and transport, fear of crime and lack of social contact, combine to make older people feel cut off from the rest of society.
This section contains information about our policy position on:
- pensions
- benefits
- Council Tax
- fuel poverty and the cost of energy
- access to financial services
- access to technology and the ‘digital divide'
- access to education
Policy Statements
Pensioner Poverty (August 2008)
Pensioner poverty affects about 2.5 million older people in the UK. Our policy statement highlights the Charity's overall position on pensioner poverty and sets out our calls on Government to commit itself to ending pensioner poverty, including automatic payment of benefits.
Isolation and loneliness policy statement (January 2008)
When you are older, you are more at risk of being lonely. Our policy statement on social isolation and loneliness sets out the Charity's overall position on isolation and highlights how, through our policy, campaigns and service provision we are working to tackle the severe isolation faced by significant proportion of the older population.
Briefings and Reports
Submission to HM Treasury Pre Budget Report 2009
This submission sets out Age Concern and Help the Aged’s proposals for the last Pre Budget Report before the General Election. In response to widespread speculation about possible spending cuts, we have looked broadly at public spending issues affecting older people. The submission makes the case for retaining existing programmes and entitlements, as well as proposing specific new measures for the PBR.
Coping with the crunch: the consequences for older people (July 2009)
In economic crisis, people in retirement and workers in their 50s and 60s face specific challenges such as a premature end to working life, low annuity and savings rates, being forced work for longer or see their retirement income suffer. Age Concern and Help the Aged believe that these challenges must be urgently tackled. Otherwise, a short-term crisis will lead to long-term disadvantage for vulnerable older people.
Local Indicators on Pensioner Poverty (May 2008)
The Local Government White Paper, Strong and Prosperous Communities, published in October last year committed to introducing a set of streamlined indicators that would reflect national priority outcomes for local authorities. This document outlines a set of practical local indicators for pensioner poverty that Local Authorities can use, either in their Local Area Agreement or at review stage.
Local Indicator on Pensioner Poverty - Worcestershire Model (May 2008)
An example of Worcestershire's response to the Pensioner Poverty Local Indicator.
Debt and Older People (March 2008)
Research from the Personal Finance Research Centre at Bristol University commissioned by Help the Aged and Barclays to support the work of a nationwide money management programme, Your Money Matters, run by Help the Aged in partnership with Barclays. The research finds that an increasing number of people are reaching retirement age in debt, with one in four people approaching state retirement age having outstanding consumer credit commitments. Shockingly, these borrowers owe four times as much as their counterparts did ten years ago.
Debt and Older People - Executive Summary (March 2008)
The executive summary of the above report.
Pensioner Poverty (January 2008)
A briefing for the Opposition Day Debate on pensioner poverty.
Consulting and Engaging with Older People (November 2007)
A quick-reference guide compiled directly from the comments, views and experiences sent in to us by older people, to assist those genuinely seeking to engage the participation of all older citizens.
Incontinence and Older People, is there a link to social isolation? (September 2007)
This report explores whether or not older people feel socially isolated by their incontinence and what environmental and other factors have most impact.
Meeting the challenge: Defeating pensioner poverty (July 2007)
This report is an analysis of research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which used ground-breaking techniques to highlight the ways in which pensioner poverty could be reduced and eliminated.
Social Inclusion; A Call to Action (April 2007)
As part of the EU funded project AGE/inc: Transnational Exchange Project: Social Inclusion, Help the Aged arranged six workshops to solicit the views of excluded older people who would not normally participate in governement consultationsor public meetings. We then fed this into the UK's National Action Plan on social inclusion. This report begins a much-needed discussion about how to ensure that these voices are heard and heeded, and urges action to address the issues they raise.
Summary of Necessities of Life Report (April 2007)
A detailed summary of the recent research conducted by the University of Keele on older people's experience of poverty. The report hears the stories of older people on what they regard as necessities of life and what they regard as luxury items.
Water charges briefing (April 2005)
Briefing on the impact of water price increases on older people.
Mapping deprivation and older people: Index of Multiple Deprivation (June 2004)
Briefing on how indices of deprivation are formulated and suggestions on how this information can be used to measure deprivation among older people.
Consultation responses
Independent Review of Charging for Household Water and Sewerage Services; Interim Report (August 2009)
The independent review on charging for domestic water and sewerage services has published an interim report. This offers the opportunity to comment on their emerging findings and recommendations as well as answering specific questions on which they would like to receive the opinions of stakeholders.
Draft Legislation for Introduction of Northern Ireland new rates policy (September 2006)
September 2006 saw the final stage of Northern Ireland rates reform consultation, which looked at the draft legislation enabling the change in household rates policy. This is our response to the consultation on the Proposal for a Draft Order in Council The Rates (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.
Security in retirement - towards a new pensions system (August 2006)
Help the Aged response to the consultation on the Pensions White Paper.
Tackling social exclusion - taking stock and looking at the future (March 2004)
A response to the Government's White Paper on pensions.
Articles and presentations
Social Exclusion Unit project on older people (April 2005)
Article on the interim report from the Government's Social Exclusion Unit, giving details of the Unit's project on how government services can help reduce and prevent isolation and exclusion in older age.
Many pensioner households near poverty line (October 2004)
Article on the figures published by the Department of Work and Pensions in Opportunity for All 2004 on pensioner poverty.
New information deprivation strengthens campaigns better resources (July 2004)
Article on mapping deprivation using the Indices of Depression (ID2004) and related policy implications.
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