Marvin OnumonuThree in four (75%) pensioners admitted their homes were colder than they liked in January, according to Age UK.
For those with household incomes of £20,000 or less, 35% said their home was too cold most or all of the time.
Similarly, 34% of older private renters reported feeling cold most or all of the time.
As Age UK presented its Save the Winter Fuel Payment petition to No.10 Downing Street, two in five (41%) pensioners said they had recently cut back on heating, equating to 5 million individuals.
Nearly half of people (48%) aged 66 and over were worried about their ability to heat their homes, and 44% expressed concern about energy prices impacting their health, a noticeable increase from last year.
Age UK’s petition opposed the Government’s proposed changes to the Winter Fuel Payment, warning that 2.5 million older people would struggle without adequate heating.
Age UK compiled public support showing 85% agreed that pensioners with a disability should receive the payment, and 72% believed the Government should fund energy efficiency improvements for low-income households.
Individuals shared their experiences with Age UK.
Jay, 85, said: “I am constantly cold at home unless I am in bed. This way of living is restrictive and unhealthy too.”
Amanda, 69, said: “It’ll be a case of sitting in my dressing gown with my duvet over me. My monthly gas payment covers my gas cooker, I can’t afford to run my cooker and my heating.”
Burton, 72, said: “So far this winter I have been freezing cold in my own home. I sit indoors wearing two coats, a hat, scarf, gloves and a rug over my legs.”
Rosemary, 74, said: “My house was built in 1911 and it does not have cavity walls so it’s cold and slightly damp.”
Sally, 79, said: “I’ve had to cut down on the food that I buy – usually just have one hot meal a week.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “This is the first January since the government decided to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP), and it is a national scandal that so many older people are saying they are cold in their own homes, some, most or all of the time.
“The position of those on lower incomes is worse still, with one in three saying they are cold at home most or all of the time.”
Abrahams added: “Rising energy prices are an important reason for this, but there’s no doubt that the changes to eligibility for Winter Fuel Payment are also contributing, both directly and also through sapping the confidence of many older people to run their heating when it’s bitterly cold, for fear of an unaffordable bill.”
Abrahams highlighted that the government needed to ensure older people stayed warm.
She said there were several ways to do this, such as reinstating the Winter Fuel Payment for older people on benefits, reforming the Warm Home Discount, introducing a social tariff, or a combination of these measures.
She said: “Doing nothing would however be completely unacceptable in the face of the evidence we are presenting today.
“Government spokespeople continue to assert that poor pensioners are being protected but that is simply not credible when there are still 700,000 pensioner households who are eligible for Pension Credit but not receiving it, according to the latest Government statistics, and when you consider the human reality behind the statistics we are releasing today.”
She said: “This winter has shown beyond any doubt that older people on low incomes and in vulnerable circumstances need more support with high energy prices that are expected to remain high for years to come, and the Government must respond.”
