Pensioner David Smith never thought he would be spending his last years in poverty.
The 89-year-old is one of the many retirees who still receives the old state pension of £169.50 a week which he says is not enough to get by. This is £51.70 less than those on the new state pension for those who reached state pension age after 6 April, 2016.
Mr Smith relies on the support of carers who visit him four times a day, arranged by the local council, but he says this isn’t enough for his needs. He has to fork out on extra assistance to help with jobs such as changing the bed linen, deep cleaning the house, and sending his mail for him.
Recently, he’s been feeling the pinch and told i he has had to “weigh up” whether or not he can actually afford this additional “vital” help anymore.
Mr Smith, from Luton, Bedfordshire, said: “Because of my disabilities, which leave me with severely limited mobility, I have extra costs.
“I had to employ a couple of lovely carers who help me with essential day-to-day tasks. I have a lady come in to do my correspondence twice a week – she helps me send my emails, post my letters and any other tasks that involve writing. This costs me £15 per visit.
“I have to pay somebody to do my shopping for me, my laundry and all the cleaning around the house. This costs me £40 per week.
“After I’ve paid for all of this support, rent, essential bills, and transport to go to my local church’s lunch once a week, I have pennies left.
“I’ve had to weigh up whether I can really afford the extra help I’ve been getting. I can’t afford to lose it, but I also can’t afford to pay it, and this is only going to get worse in the winter months when I have to put the heating back on.”
Mr Smith also gets around £30 per week from a workplace pension, which helps, but nowhere near enough.
He admitted that he’s had to ask loved ones for help – both financial and domestic in the hope that he can cut down on the professional support he pays for – but this didn’t exactly work out.
“I’ve had to reach out my daughter and my brother for help. The issue is, my daughter works a lot of hours as a home carer and has a family, so finds it hard to come over to my house as much as she would like to. My brother is only a few years younger than me and lives quite far away, so he can’t make the journey often. He has to look after himself.”
With no one else to turn to, Mr Smith spoke to his local church, but they were at capacity. Local charities couldn’t help him either. “I’ve been left in the lurch essentially,” he said.
In order to cut back, he shops in budget supermarkets like Iceland and only buys what he needs. He isn’t able to treat himself to luxuries like ice cream anymore.
“Not having a sweet treat may not seem like a major thing, but when you’re a pensioner living in poverty after working hard your whole life, and you feel like you don’t have much enjoyment in life, it does make a difference.”
One thing that would really help him out is pension credit. This gives a qualifying pensioner extra money to help with their living costs if they are over the state pension age – currently 66 in the UK – and on a low income. Pension credit can also help with housing costs such as ground rent or service charges.
Unfortunately for Mr Smith, he doesn’t qualify for it but he doesn’t know why. He said: “I have tried to find out by asking one of my carers to help me do some research online, but we couldn’t get to the bottom of it.
“This would give me an extra £50 per week, which to be honest would be life changing.
“I haven’t been able to buy new shoes in four years and I desperately need new slippers for the winter, because it’s looking like I won’t be able to afford to put the heating on again.
“I do have a little more hope now that a Labour Government has been elected but they need to take us pensioners and those of us who rely on social care seriously. I’m 89 now, I’ve worked my whole life, and I wanted to enjoy my final years, rather than them be a struggle. I shouldn’t have to live like this.”