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25 October 2005
Thousands of pensioners are finding it impossible to grow old gracefully as they bear a huge financial millstone, according to research.
Age Concern suggests that one in ten senior citizens may struggling under the weight of unmanageable debts - incurred by mortgages, loans and credit card borrowing.
Houses, in particular, can be particularly difficult to maintain when living on a pension, particularly with gas bills having escalated of late and council tax doubling since 1997. Age Concern claims that there are examples of 80-year-olds still saddled with hefty mortgage repayments.
Phil Veale, financial services development manager for the organisation, said in the Daily Telegraph: "These people have been in their properties for 30 or 40 years and the house is going to get tired. It is then that people need money to sort out their situation.
"Increasing financial pressures….could leave many over-50s unable to save more and therefore expose them to debt in later life."
The findings were revealed the week after Age Concern criticised the government's Pension Credit scheme, with director-general Gordon Lishman warning that: "Unless the Government seizes the opportunity to introduce radical pensions reform, millions more will face poverty in retirement."
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