A pensioner has told how he is ‘scared for the winter’ because he can’t afford to put the heating on, as Labour prepares to scrap the winter fuel allowance from millions.
Simon Moss, a 70-year-old retired customer service assistant, is facing a harsh winter ahead in his cold housing association bungalow.
He already only goes shopping once a month, has cut out smoking, drinking and holidays as well as smaller luxuries such as Sky TV – and he has two children on Universal Credit who he tries to support as much as possible.
He is one of 11.8 million people in the UK who say they don’t have enough to live on, according to a new report from Christians Against Poverty.
They say their clients are typically £273-a-month short of what they need to be able to cover their basics such as food, energy bills and rent.
Mr Moss, from Sunderland, said: ‘Life is a struggle, I never go out and hardly ever drink anymore.
‘I’m scared for the winter.’
Simon Moss, a 70-year-old retired customer service assistant, is facing a harsh winter ahead in his cold housing association bungalow
He is one of 11.8 million people in the UK who say they don’t have enough to live on, according to a new report from Christians Against Poverty
Labour’s plans would see only pensioners on incomes low enough to receive pension credit getting winter fuel payments worth up to £300 this year, despite fears that many will be forced to choose between heating and eating.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Government would not ‘play fast and loose’ with the nation’s finances as she defended the decision to means test pensioners’ winter fuel payments.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘We have to make sure that we can fiscally be responsible, so that we can grow our economy, so that we can pay for our public services.
‘And we said that in the run-up to the general election. What we didn’t realise is that absolute mess the Tories had left the… state of the finances, and we’re having to make difficult decisions.’
She said the Government was taking action to support pensioners, with the household support fund extended to ‘help people who maybe are not entitled to pension credit, who are just above that threshold, who may struggle this winter’.
Protecting the state pension triple lock, which looks set to give an above-inflation rise in line with average earnings, also gives ‘some protection’, she said.
She acknowledged it was a ‘difficult choice’ but it was due to the ‘difficult circumstances because of the previous government and what they did’.
It is of little consolation to Mr Moss, who a few years ago found himself in a difficult financial situation and sought help from Christians Against Poverty (CAP).
With the assistance of his CAP Debt Centre Manager, he was able to go debt-free through a Debt Relief Order.
Mr Moss says his pension from various jobs in retail plus his state pension narrowly tips him over the edge of the threshold to not get the winter fuel allowance
The thought of enduring another winter like the last one but without any help from the government fills the pensioner with anxiety
However, despite this relief, managing his finances remains a constant struggle.
Mr Moss says his pension from various jobs in retail plus his state pension narrowly tips him over the edge of the threshold to not get the winter fuel allowance.
His weekly income of £219 isn’t enough to cover all his expenses. He has had to make significant changes to his former lifestyle just to stay afloat.
He said: ‘I’ve learned over the past few months to cancel everything I used to have. [There’s] no Sky TV, just Freeview, and I hardly ever go out or drink anymore.
‘I’ve had to give up smoking, which I guess is one good thing.’
He added he takes no holidays, no treats and that his existence is ‘living hand to mouth each day’.
‘It’s a case of constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul,’ he said.
For Mr Moss, the thought of enduring another winter like the last one but without any help from the government fills him with anxiety.
‘Last year, it was freezing. I wasn’t putting the heating on unless I absolutely had to.
‘I was barely using it, and if we get a cold winter this year, I’m dreading it.’
His financial woes are compounded by his need to support his son and daughter-in-law – who are both also on Universal Credit and are not working.
Despite his own limited means, he tries to help them out when he can.
His own rent – after housing benefit – is £60 per week, and he has to be extremely careful with his food budget, shopping only once a month and strictly sticking to a shopping list.
He feels particularly frustrated by the government’s withdrawal of support for pensioners, especially those with the lowest incomes.
He said: ‘I’m not being greedy, but I do think that this withdrawal of support for pensioners is wrong.
‘I feel that we’re not taken into consideration at all-they don’t care.’
Adding to his stress, Mr Moss is currently involved in a dispute with the council over council tax payments as he’s been struggling to keep up with the direct debit payments.
He said: ‘I’m one of millions who are overlooked and forgotten every day in lots of local government and Westminster government decisions.’
CAP, which runs over 200 debt centres across the UK and supports thousands of people each year says almost 50 per cent of their our clients have a ‘deficit budget’ – where their income leaves them unable to afford essential items.
A spokesperson said: ‘We can see that chronically low incomes are devastating the lives of millions of people across the UK – damaging people’s wellbeing, affecting families and impacting health and welfare services.’
Christians Against Poverty’s Chief Executive Officer, Stewart McCulloch, said, ‘This new report shows the brutal reality of living with a deficit budget.
‘Our expert debt advisors, alongside local churches we partner with, are continuing to help thousands of people across the UK to become debt free.
’11 million people living lives of hidden desperation is utterly unacceptable. We can’t afford the welfare and health costs of this tragedy. We are all affected by the strains this puts on our society. The time has come to act.’