Putney, Roehampton and Southfields pensioners may have to choose between heating and eating due to Real Terms Pension Cut as inflation rises, says Labour MP Fleur Anderson.
The Conservative Government have suspended the “triple lock” policy for determining state pension and made the decision to increase the state pension by only 3.1% in the 2022/23 financial year.
The Bank of England predicts inflation will rise to around 7% by spring, meaning the pension of 9482 people in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields will be worth £222 less in real terms than in 2021/22, and £355 less for couples.
Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, Roehampton, and Southfields said: “With working people, families and pensioners struggling to make ends meet along with rising child and pensioner poverty this is clear proof that the Government are simply not on the side of working people or pensioners.”
Anderson also stressed the negative impact on already strained social care services amidst the pandemic:
“Further cuts to the pensions of the elderly will only increase the burden on the brilliant yet overworked and underpaid carers and social workers in our borough.”
Anderson highlighted Labour’s plan to reduce energy bills, saving all households around £200 and a further £400 for the lowest income families, compared to £350 Conservatives will offer.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “Thousands of pensioners face a tough, bleak year faced with impossible choices between heating or eating.
“Not only have Tory MPs broken their manifesto commitment to the pension triple lock, they have endorsed Boris Johnson’s plan to cut the value of the basic state pension by hundreds of pounds, wiping out any gain from the energy loan scheme.
“Labour will always stand up for pensioners guaranteeing older people the security, prosperity and respect they deserve.”
The proposed 2022/23 pension rates are hitting pensioners during a time in which gas and electric prices are forecast to soar, John French, chief executive of the Utility Regulator, stated:
“Unfortunately, we’re expected to see at least a 30% increase, probably slightly higher, for consumers going forward on the gas price.”
Currently the state of care, according to Age UK, stands at 1.6 million people aged 65 and over not receiving the care and support they need with essential living activities and £86 million has been cut from adult social care spending since 2012 despite the UK’s ageing population crisis.
The “triple lock” criteria used to dictate the state pension should increase each year in accordance with which of the following is highest:
- Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
- The average wage increase
- Or 2.5%
Labour’s energy plan can be viewed at: https://labour.org.uk/press/labour-slams-decade-of-failure-on-british-energy-with-plan-to-save-families-200-to-ease-immediate-crisis-costs/
