Research from Prudential has found that more than one million pensioners survive on just £8.49 per day. Their study found that 14% of adults entitled to a full state pension, have an annual pension of less than £5,000. After council tax and utility bills, this leaves only £3,092 per year to live on for 1.4 million pensioners.
More than 3.6 million people (38%) have an annual pension of £10,000 or less, and just over half live on £15,000 a year. In the North, 18.4% of respondents said that they survived on less than £5,000 per year, while the most well off pensioners live in London, with an average income of £16,900.
Because of the low levels of income, the study found that 59% of pensioners are making cutbacks to their spending. Twenty three per cent of people have cut back on leisure activities and eating out, while more than a fifth have cut back on the number of holidays they take, and the same amount have said that they have stopped treating themselves. Almost 25% have said that they have had to cut back on their heating and buying new clothes, 16% have reduced the use of their telephones and 13% have cut back on food and drink.
Our view
Perhaps if people saved they would not be in such a mess. Even today, people think more about their cars or their dogs than they do about saving for retirement.
People must save and if so, be forced to save - which now seems likely with the new National Pensions Savings Scheme due in a few years.
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