Two of our case studies, June and Stephen, appeared in an article in The Sun. They discuss struggling with their finances before reaching out to Independent Age, and how the additional government support has allowed them to gain more control of their situation. Read the full article here.
As part of our hand-in of a petition signed by 36,000 people calling for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing at Downing Street and the Lib Dem headquarters on Monday, Marion, one of our case studies, spoke to the i. She details the experience of just missing out on Pension Credit and being a WASPI woman, as well as the difference a COPA would make. Read the full article here.
Independent Age's Chief Executive Joanna Elson CBE gave a comment to BBC concerning the rising number of pensioners pushed into paying income tax. The 8.5% increase in the State Pension to £11,500, combined with a frozen lower tax threshold, has created a situation where pensioners receiving as little as £1,070 from private pensions have been tipped into the lower tax bracket. Independent Age has seen an increase in calls to their helpline in recent weeks from pensioners confused about the issue. Read the full article here.
iNews attended Independent Age's parliamentary event launching the Two million too many campaign. Their coverage of the event focused on our calls for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing. These calls are echoed by Ms Gideon, MP for Stoke-on-Trent central, who spoke at the event as a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Aging and Old People, and the Liberal Democrats' work and pensions spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain, who co-hosted the event. Our Chief Executive Joanna Elson CBE also gave a comment. Read the full article here.
An earlier and reduced state pension could see pensioners “financially suffer for the rest of their lives”, a charity has warned. Leading private pension firm Aegon said that workers should be able to take their state pension up to three years early if they agree to lower payments. In this article on the prospect of a reduced pension. The Big Issue used an quote from Joanna Elson CBE and polling we published which showed that 64% of people over 50 who are not yet fully retired are worried about their financial situation if and when they fully retire. Read the full article here.
Chief Executive Joanna Elson CBE had an opinion piece published in Inside Housing. The article discusses the UK rental system and how it compares to other countries, with reference to our latest report Paving the way international renting report | Independent Age. Joanna calls on the government to pass the Renters (Reform) Bill to redress the imbalance between tenants and landlords and help older tenants who are struggling right now. Read the full article here.
Colin Smyth MSP's opinion piece renews Independent Age's call for an Older People's Commissioner (OPC). Colin introduced a Private Member's Bill to the Scottish Parliament calling for this and the opinion piece features our polling from our recent support on how an OPC could help older people in Scotland who are in financial hardship. The article was published in print and online.
Independent Age gave the exclusive story of our new report - Paving the way international renting report | Independent Age - to The Times. The article explores the findings of the report, comparing the UK rental market to countries including Fance, USA, Germany and Ireland. Furthermore is includes discussion of the Renters’ Reform Bill, along with statements from Joanna Elson CBE and case study Susan Curtis, who is facing eviction from her rental home of 12 years. Read the full article here.
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