State pensioner, 70, fears rising cost of living as she ‘cannot afford’ energy bills | Personal Finance | Finance
The cost of living, inflation and energy bills are all wreaking havoc on Britons’ finances. However, many pensioners state they are set to struggle due to the triple lock freeze on top of this.
Express.co.uk spoke exclusively to Jennifer Davis, 70, a widow and pensioner from Essex, who discussed the rising cost of living.
She said: “I am still very worried about energy bills, just as I was concerned during this winter.
“In the winter I had my heating on downstairs but not upstairs in the bedrooms.
“I live in a two-up two-down property and it was cold! I spent the winter in a dressing gown with my clothes underneath.
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Consequently, she says, her finances are being squeezed, especially with the rising cost of energy bills.
She added: “My energy supplier went bust, so I’ve been transferred over, and I was shocked at the new prices.
“I was paying £90 per month, and now I’m paying £140 – and that’s only going to go up even more.
“I’m eating away at all my savings. I haven’t bought any clothes in two years, because I just can’t afford it.
“As soon as you step out of the house you’ve more or less spent £20 just meeting up with a friend to have a coffee and a cake or wandering around the shops.
“But I can’t do that because I don’t have the money anymore. There’s nothing to buy, so why should I even go out?”
Ms Davis has called upon Britons and the Government to show compassion for pensioners in this difficult time.
She concluded: “You see adverts on TV being marketed to older people, telling us to go on a cruise! Really?
“A few people set themselves up for retirement, and that’s great for them, they’ll really enjoy it. But I believe the majority of us just lived our lives, paid in to the Government, raised our children and had a holiday here and there.
“Now, crunch time has come when we’ve least expected it. I didn’t expect my husband to die and now it seems like his pension just got swallowed up after all his years of hard work.
“Lots of people paid into the system and now we’re hardly benefitting from it at all.”
A DWP spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “We recognize the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why we’re providing support worth £21billion this financial year and next to help. This includes freezing fuel duties to keep costs down and helping households with their energy bills through our £9.1billion Energy Bills Rebate.
“Our Winter Fuel Payments are also supporting over 11million pensioners with their energy bills and we are continuing to encourage those eligible for Pension Credit, and the wide range of other benefits it can provide, to make a claim.”
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