Three in four pensioners are living in a cold home

With the best will in the world Monica, it really isn't a problem for you to fix, it's for the government to sort out.
I don't think many posters are happy sharing their unfortunate circumstances.

Noo one is asking for exact social circumstances, but you cannot suggest a solution to a problem if you do not know the causes and most of us are concerned that so many on GN and more wildely are living in conditions that are bad for their health and should be remedied.

I'm not surprised people don't want to post their exact circumstances on social media.

It is a shame that no one with enormous bills and a small house who is struggling has not responded because so far all the examples given broadly show a relationship between home size, age, condition and monthly bill.

I have also looked up the definition of 'fuel poverty'. The definition is quite complex but can be summarised as being anyone whose fuel bills exceed 10% of their income www.nea.org.uk/what-is-fuel-poverty/

Now Pension credit is set at £218 a week, which means the basic fuel poverty level is around £22 a week, which is around £95 a month ( a month is longer than 4 weeks) and many of the fuel costs mentioned above are below that level.

I am not rudely curious about peoples means and bills, but it occurs to me that the cause and solution to fuel poverty, may be more specific than just reinstating WFA. For example., heating with calor gas or oil, is very expensive, so perhaps those not on the gas network should get a supplement, or possible people have to economise on fuel becausee they are paying a very high rent or hugely inflated maintenance charges, in which case that is what needs to be dealt with.

It is also possible in a few cases that people's money is just going elsewhere, any thing from some addiction, to a client I had with a very generous pension, who had guaranteed a large loan for a feckless son, inevitably he had fallen behind with his payments, and she was having to pay them from her pension, reducing a generous pension to a pittance. Then there are those paying money out, more than they can afford, for the childcare of grandchildren or similar.

Victorian open plan terraced, 2 bed well insulated.. £78 per month always nice and warm

Standing charges are unfair. Even if someone decides to switch off the heating altogether they are charged, so can never have a nil balance.

Right Monica - 2 bed bungalow approx 80 sq m 20 year old cavity insulation, recent DG, recent topped up loft insulation and oak flooring on top of insulation and floorboards. Blinds and curtains closed at dusk.

Gas CH, condensing boiler, gas hob, electric oven, gas power shower. Temperature rarely needs to be above 18 degrees, with an hour’s heating at rising/showering in the morning then Intermittently on during daytime and off an hour before bed.

DD to EDF £78 per month (gas and elec) and we’re in credit of £40 at the moment. Annual elec consumption approx 1100kw pa £460 Jan-Dec24. Gas 3500 kWh pa £377 same period.

I use the oven approx once a week, never for one item, always filling three shelves and most cooking is done on gas hob (and whistling kettle) because it’s cheapest way to cook. Batch cooking in Slow cooker, quick steaming in microwave and crispy cooking in air fryer as necessary.

Our usage hasn’t changed in the last 8 years since I retired but price of utilities has and standing charge in particular is the one I grudge!

Single glazed (and single brick) 4 bed Edwardian. Gas CH.

Bill is about £180 a month (all year round), and the house is warm.

We live in a 3 bedroomed ex council house built in the 1930s.
Loft insulation, foil behind rads.
No cavity walls.
Gas and electricity was £85 month now going up to £120.
DH on blood thinners and feels the cold.
DD and DGC live with us half the time.

Reasonably large 3 bed double glazed gas central heating around £260 a month during the colder months. I don't skimp on heating if it's cold the heating is running

We live in a large four bedroom house. Insulated loft, full double glazing and insulated walls. House built about 1970. Mains gas central heating. Our bill is £143 per month.

We have all these reports about people feeling cold and rocketing fuel bills, but no figures to put to them.

At sometime in the last few days I have specified the size and type of my house and my fuel bill hoping others would dothe same and between us we might actually have some information to help each other.

I will now try again. I live in a large 4 bedroomed 550 year old Listed building. Total area around 2,500 square feet. . Insulated loft, some double glazing, but plenty of single glazing, no wall insulation. Foil behind all radiators on outside walls. Thermoststat set at 18.5 degrees. Fuel bills on average £250 a month.

How does this compare with other people

My home is very cold. My bills have quadrupled and unaffordable, so have got through the winter without heating, but I’ve managed it by going out to a warm space each day.

Shocking news - people are sometimes cold in the winter!

I was at a social event the other evening (in someone's house), and I think everyone there would have been a pensioner - if not, within a year or so of pension age. I was the only one wearing a jumper.

I'm not sure what that proves, but as much as any anecdote, I suppose. I knit, so have a lot of warm, bulky jumpers, but many of my friends don't seem to own any. I am not cold at home, but the heating is set at a temperature that assumes people are wearing sensible clothing. I am having people here this evening, so will turn it up a bit, as I'm as sure as I can be that there will be more tops/blouses than woollies.

For various reasons I spent several years in a house with draughty single glazed windows, a door that let draughts in, no working central heating, just a gas fire, I was over 60 but no pension, but only on a small income. I managed during the beast from the east. without being too cold. I obviously didn't have high heating bills, I put the money I would have otherwise spent on heating bills towards things to keep me warm, sheepskin slippers, warm clothing of all sorts, an electric blanket for the bed. And lovely warm duvets. Subsequently I've been able to get new windows and doors fitted and a combo boiler and as I have a small house which actually has cavity wall and loft insulation a little heating goes a long way. I still wear warm clothing and now have a heated throw, and a couple of those oversized velvet lined with fleece goodies, not the famous brand, much cheaper but just as good. I still wear wrist warmers or fingerless gloves when I need to and have a nest thermometer, so if I'm not going to be at home I can set the heat not to heat up, just keep the chill off the place, and I can set it to come on so I'm warm when I get home. I have it set for the minimum necessary, but if I am. Home and it's cold I'll override it, so I am not heating the house up unnecessarily if I'm not there.1
I don't feel deprived wearing warm clothes and warm slippers or snuggling under a blanket. I grew up. In a cold part of the UK and we used to keep warm by wrapping up warm as well as having a fire, yes we did have central heating but big old draughty house. I do pay my gas and electric monthly, so am paying more during the months when I have no heating on or not on much so that helps.
I do have a small extra pension. Locally there are warm spaces and I'd be more than happy to use them if I felt. It necessary, some like the library I go to anyway.
Also following a tip from someone who lives on top of a cold hill, a dehumidifier, if the humidity goes above a certain level I put it on and it makes the house feel much warmer even without heating on

Allira

I don't know, I never read it.
However, there was plenty of news about this and discussions online.

Two wrongs do not make a right.

One wrong is that people are unable to pay their bills.

What is the other?

Silverdale I would imagine that the majority of pensioners didn't sign the petition because they did not know about it.

As well as that we know that about one third of the electorate do not bother to vote at elections, so, on something like this probably 40% of the relevant age group, wouldn't go to the effort of finding out about it and voting because they cannot see the point, it won't change things etc etc.

All told 650,000 is a significant number of signatures on a petition.

I don't know, I never read it.
However, there was plenty of news about this and discussions online.

Two wrongs do not make a right.

I was going to say something similar to MOnica .
So sorry to hear all the stories on here of some posters’ living conditions.

I hope all those struggling have contacted their energy providers to discuss a possible repayment plan if they get into financial difficulties.

I believe they have a duty to help customers work out an affordable plan.

What is the Daily Express suggesting should be done? Give benefits to those who haven't provided for old age (and that is not a value judgement - I know that a lot of people have not earned enough to do so) and thus negate the point of saving, or give all pensioners money towards heating, and reduce the budget for children and others in need? Neither is a sensible strategy, so what do they suggest?

No government wants to encourage people to make themselves dependent on the state, but that is what happens when they means-test. In many ways it doesn't matter where the level is set, there will always be people on the 'cliff edge'. Why would people save (whether in the bank or into pensions) if they are going to be worse off at both 'ends' - when they do without to save, and when their savings then disqualify them from benefits? We have a current thread on here where a poster asks about spending her own money so that she won't be worse off than if she keeps it. It's understandable that people will think like this - people work hard for their money, and want to be better off than if they hadn't done so.

Equally, I linked recently to a thread on here from before the election, and people were saying that they didn't need the WFP and that it should be 'targeted' (AKA means-tested). Politicians scan all media sources for opinions, and threads like that may well have fed into the decision to do so. Whether or not, it is interesting how much opinions have changed now that we have a Labour government in power.

My guess is that when the Tories were in power there will not been an Express headline complaining about young people struggling with high rents and being unable to save, or about how many working people were forced to use foodbanks.

Some of the posts on here are surprisingly ignorant of how many people, often widowed, do have to live.

Why on earth would you think I meant you, M0nica?
Your posts show empathy and I understanding.

I also said that suddenly removing the WFA without a low cut-off point may have had a psychological effect on some elderly people and worried them so much they have in fact turned their heating right down and may be suffering. Adding in other factors such as perhaps not being able to move around as much or as quickly, other bills increasing, all contributes to their anxiety.

M0nica

Allira

Many old people are frightened of spending their savings because they are keeping them aside in case they need care, in case they have large bills for maintenance on their home, white goods replacement, boiler replacement, and often for funeral costs.

Some of the posts on here are surprisingly ignorant of how many people, often widowed, do have to live.
I'm astonished. Just because obviously well-heeled people who were in well-paid professions with excellent pensions and know no-one in their peer group who might be struggling does not mean there are not millions of people who are having to watch their pennies and eke out their pensions.

Actually, on reflection, no, I'm not astonished because it's obvious they would never mix with those types of people.

Allira That is a very offensive thing to say. My friends include people on benefits and those managing on very small incomes. I do not subject new friends to a means test. What applies to me will apply to most older people.

I am also not a Virtue Signaller and would consider it demeaning to parade my less well off friends up and down as an example of my virtue in befriending them

I also have over 10 years experience working for a charity for the aged as a home visitor, mostly obtaining benefits for less well off and disabled older people.

My experience is such that my own income is irrelevant.

Older poorer people are not saints, they too are often their own worst enemies and some of them will make decisions that make a bad situation worse.

There is a big difference between having a carefully calculated sum saved somewhere accessible to deal with the replacing white goods, boilers, paying for funeral etc. that you access as necessary, and a sum of money, possible £20k-£40K that will make little or no contribution to paying for any care, that if reduced to £20K, can make your home more comfortable and energy efficient and mean that you will be entitled to means tested benefits, worth as much as £100 a week, and sometimes more, plus qualifying for WFA and other associated benefits.

I have seen the difference making this strategic decision to reduce savings just sufficiently to qualify for means tested benefits can make to someones comfort and security.

No, it is not offensive at all M0nica.

What is offensive are some of the posts on here which seem to be astonishingly smug, assuming that because the posters know no-one amongst their comfortably off friends who is struggling to pay a heating bill therefore feeling the cold that it isn't happening. They forgive the impression of not knowing just what a struggle many older people, often on their own, are finding now to pay the bills.
It was like suddenly pulling the carpet from under their feet.

Your posts were not amongst those.

A trickle of people on a digital platform saying they are cold doesn’t negate the fact that the headline Age UK used to promote the petition they were delivering to Downing Street is misleading.

The petition gathered 650,056 signatures. Sounds a decent number but if 9.1 miilion pensioners are alleged to be suffering why didn’t more sign it?

Age UK itself say in the report that 2.5 million older people would struggle without the WFP and wouldn’t be able to afford to stay adequately warm in their homes. That’s credible but it still isn’t 9.1 million.

I agree absolutely that it’s single pensioners who are more likely to be in fuel poverty because the average income of a single pensioner after housing costs (AHC) is far lower than that of a couple but we still need to fuel our homes.

In 2023, the average income of a pensioner couple was £561pw AHC and for a single pensioner £267. Almost £300 per week difference.

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pensioners-incomes-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/pensioners-incomes-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023

Note the examples given in the Age UK report. I am constantly cold … I cannot afford … I sit indoors wearing two coats … I sit wrapped in a rug … I’ve had to cut down on food … Not a “we” in there.

It would have been helpful if Age UK had included some data in their report which highlighted which demographic has been most disadvantaged by the withdrawal of universal WFP and how this might be addressed.

It is very concerning to read about all those people struggling in the cold. Have they spoken to dedicated charities for the elderly like Age UK about the various schemes outside govrnment benefits run by the energy companies and otherd to either subsidise fuel bills or pay for enhanced insulation.