An elderly County Durham woman has spoken out about the impact of the cost of living, as part of a national charity’s efforts to highlight the harm being caused by increasing poverty rates among older people.

Carol, whose images and story featured in an exhibition in London alongside her partner Wilf, told older people’s charity Independent Age how she is struggling with increased energy bills and prices in the supermarket.

The 77-year-old of Bishop Auckland, said: “Wilf and I met through a ‘lonely hearts’ column 14 years ago. I still like to be as independent as I can, but I’ve got arthritis in both knees and hips, an enlarged heart and lymphoedema.

"I need help getting around. Wilf’s now officially my carer, but he doesn’t get a penny for it – he’s been told he doesn’t qualify.

The Northern Echo:

“It’s really a struggle. I get Pension Credit, my State Pension and Disability Living Allowance, and Wilf has a private pension.

"But every weekend, we go up and down the supermarket aisles, looking at how much the prices have increased – even for basics like Weetabix. At home I wear as many layers as I can – fleeces, thermals and blankets – but I still need to keep the heating on because of my arthritis.

“I worked all my life, and still I have to choose whether to heat the bungalow or eat. I really think that, now, we should get a little bit more back.”

Independent Age shared Carol and Wilf’s story at an event to showcase their renewed focus on tackling financial hardship among people over 65.

The renewed focus comes in response to the increasing number of older people calling the charity’s helpline with experiences similar to Carol’s, with data showing that poverty is affecting more older people now than at any other time in the last 10 years.

The event also saw the launch of ‘The Hidden Two Million’ report, and the premiere of a new documentary film that highlights older people’s experiences of financial hardship, featuring Carol’s experiences. In the UK, more than two million older people live below the poverty line, and at least one million more live with precarious finances.

Financial hardship has a major impact on every aspect of an older person’s life. It affects health, intensifies loneliness, and reduces quality of life.

Independent Age has renewed its focus so that the charity can help more people like Carol and Wilf. It is being supported in its work by volunteers and campaigners, including radio DJ Tony Blackburn.

He said: “There’s a misconception that everyone in later life enjoys a financially comfortable retirement. The hidden reality is that more than two million older people in the UK live in poverty.

That’s why I’m supporting Independent Age’s aim to improve the lives of one million older people by 2027. Living in financial hardship affects older people's health, intensifies loneliness and reduces their quality of life – so I’m supporting Independent Age’s work to prevent and alleviate it.”

Baroness Julia Neuberger, chair of Trustees at Independent Age, said: “We have been deeply disturbed by the steady increase in poverty rates among older people in the UK over the last several years.

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"With the added burdens of falling home ownership and people being unable to save an adequate amount for retirement, we fear that the UK is sleepwalking toward a poverty precipice.

“When people fall into poverty after retirement they have few choices to raise their income. Often the only option available to them is to cut back or minimise their spending, even on essentials like food and energy.

"Nobody dreams of experiencing financial hardship when they grow older, and no one should have to face these choices in modern-day Britain; yet it is the reality for too many. That’s why at Independent Age we are focussing all our efforts on tackling financial hardship in later life.”