Elderly 'struggling' in recession

A small number of older people may be wealthy but the vast majority are reliant on State pensions to protect them against the risk of poverty, it was claimed today.

Publishing a new report into how the elderly are coping with the recession, Patricia Conboy, director of the Older and Bolder alliance said many people were already struggling due to the economic crisis and would be unable to cope if pensions were cut in the Budget.

Ms Conboy said that 84 per cent of older people aged 65 to 74 years rely on social transfers, including the State pension to keep them from poverty.

Feeling the Pinch: One Year On, is a follow-up study to a major report conducted by the alliance last year. That study found that some elderly people were trying to save money by watering down milk, heating one room in the house and only using the car for emergencies.

The follow-up report reveals that many older people are being forced to cut back even further in areas such as healthcare, heating and home maintenance.

As well as living frugally from week to week the study shows some elderly people are also helping out family members who have been affected by the recession.

Speaking at the launch of the study in Dublin this morning, Ms Conboy said the suggestion that older people were more wealthy than others was a “myth.”

“We are being told at the moment that older people have not been affected by the recession, but the reality is that while a minority of them are well off most older people are highly dependent on pensions as a safety net.”

Ms Conboy highlighted the case of Barbara, a 68-year-old woman who lives alone and is solely reliant on the State contributory pension who has resorted to burnings clippings and branches from her garden for heating.

The woman told researchers she was worried that changes in the next Budget would “knock me off the edge altogether.”

Ms Conboy called on the Government to focus on reforming tax relief rather than cutting the State pension, which she said had already been reduced by 2 per cent with the removal of the Christmas bonus.

Many of those present at the report's launch today expressed anger and dismay about their current situation and that of the State's.

Nuala Gilsennan (72) from Crumlin in Dublin said she felt betrayed by the Government and its treatment of older people.

"The Christmas bonus is gone...there's not even a tenner now. I miss that dreadfully to pay for food and heat, not for treats for the grandchildren.

"I feel that we've been sold down the river. All the people have been treated terribly but I don't feel powerless and as long as I don't feel powerless I'll fight this till the bitter end," she added.