Poverty in Later Life: Breaking down barriers to ensure financial security for everyone in later life
Draft press release
[Insert date]
[insert area] MP attends event on tackling poverty in later life
[insert constituency] MP [insert name] attended an event on Tuesday 4 February in Westminster to discuss ways of supporting older people in financial hardship, with the latest figures showing there are 1.9 million people in later life currently living in poverty across the UK.
The event: ‘Poverty in Later Life: Breaking down barriers to ensure financial security for everyone in later life’ was co-hosted by Liberal Democrat MPs Steven Darling and John Milne on behalf of charity Independent Age.
At the event, Independent Age previewed research that puts forward polices designed to reduce pensioner poverty. This includes breaking down barriers to entitlements such as Pension Credit, so older people living on low incomes are able to access the financial support they are entitled to. The charity also discussed its upcoming research on income adequacy, which will look into whether or not the State Pension and other benefits provide enough income to live well.
Speaking after the event, [insert name] MP said:
“Today’s event highlighted the importance of tackling poverty in later life and ensuring older people on a low income receive all of the support they are entitled to.
“We all deserve to be able to age well with dignity, which is why we must work together to lift as many older people out of poverty in [insert area] as we can.”
Joanna Elson CBE, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said:
“We’re really pleased that [insert name] MP came along to hear solutions on tackling the massive issue of later life poverty.
“Too many older people are living in financial hardship where every day is a struggle to make ends meet. We receive regular heartbreaking calls from older people making dangerous cutbacks, from eating just one meal a day to not turning the heating on. Financial entitlements are available to older people struggling financially, however there are barriers stopping many from accessing potentially life changing support. Independent Age’s free information and advice services are there to help older people boost their income and obtain the support that they often miss out on.
“By working together, we have a real opportunity to make a difference to the lives of older people in the UK now and in the future.”
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Together we can end pensioner poverty. Continue the conversation on social media and help us raise awareness of this critical issue. Find us on most platforms with @IndependentAge.
Shorter post
It is shocking that older people on low incomes could be missing out on as much as £9 billion.
We must ensure that older people receive the support they need. It was great to speak to @IndependentAge today to learn more about improving later life for all.
Longer post
It is shocking that older people on low incomes could be missing out on as much as £9 billion.
We must ensure that older people on low income receive the support they need to live well. Nobody should have to skip meals, wash less or live in a cold home in later life.
It was great to hear more from @IndependentAge today on this urgent issue. Together we can end pensioner poverty.
Find out more Independent Age's research here: https://www.independentage.org/policy-and-research/research-reports
You might also be interested in...
- Our report, An adequate income in later life, which explores State Pension data, and shares responses to our recent survey with older people. It highlights the realities of receiving the State Pension, which varies greatly – many people do not receive a full State Pension for a variety of reasons.
- Our report, Looking for a lifeline: Modelling a single social tariff for water bills, which investigates the levels of water poverty among older people, and how this is going to change over the next few years.
- Our blog post about pensioners' experiences of claiming social security.
- Our advice guides, which provide free information for older people on a range of topics including benefits, housing and care.