‘No shower, cooker or freezer’: Thousands of older women face stark choices in ‘apocalyptic’ cost crisis
Hundreds of thousands of older women are struggling as soaring prices cripples their finances, with many forced to turn off fans, cookers and even lights to save money.
Campaigners told The Independent women over 65 are among those hit hardest by the “apocalyptic” cost of living crisis as they warned their physical and mental health are suffering.
Researchers found 55 per cent of women in the age group are being forced to cut spending on everyday expenses, substantially more than the 44 per cent of men who said the same.
One in three women over 65 in England – the equivalent of 1.8m – are struggling so badly they can not afford even a £25 monthly increase in their expenses, according to YouGov data exclusively shared by charity Independent Age.
Older women are also far more likely to cope with a £50 per month increase in their costs than men, the figures show, with 54 per cent of women raising it as an issue compared to 41 per cent of men.
Independent Age’s Morgan Vine said the choices women are being forced to make are “very stark”. Her organisation speaks to elderly people on a daily basis, with many sharing harrowing experiences.
“We have heard from people turning off lights, TVs, and cookers,” she said. “One woman told me she only boils the kettle once a day.
“Women are eating microwave food every day which is not good for their mental or physical health. People can’t afford fresh fruit. All of this is meaning people are mentally very low.”
Ms Vine said another woman had been turning off her fridge overnight to save money on bills despite the potential health risks.
“There are lots and lots of women living in poverty in later life,” she continued. “There are more women than men in this situation in later life. The decisions people are having to make are having a massive impact on their physical and mental health.
“People have said to us they are in a constant state of vigilance constantly checking their bank balance. We are really concerned about the situations older women are living in.
“We think the government needs to provide more for those struggling under the cost of living crisis – particularly with news fuel will go up even more in autumn and inflation is causing food prices to rise.”
Ms Vine noted their research has previously found older women are one of the groups worst impacted by the cost of living crisis – with single older women hardest hit.
“We already know that women live an average of three and a half years longer than men, so are having to make their already smaller pensions stretch further,” she added.
She warned there are a range of structural inequalities which mean women in older age are more likely to be in a worse financial situation than their male counterparts.
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The charity’s analysis of Department of Work and Pensions figures spanning from 1995 to 2020 found 20 per cent of older women in the UK live in poverty.
The data showed 27 per cent of single women live in poverty in later life, in comparison to 16 per cent of single men.
Jane Drew, one of many Britons struggling during the cost of living crisis, said she had endured “five years of freezing every winter” and was unable to claim winter fuel payment due to her state pension being deferred.
The 65-year-old added: “I am in too much pain most days to continue in work. It is pointless applying for universal credit as I own my own home. It is pointless applying for job seekers as no one in their right mind is going to employ a 65-year-old care worker with a bad back.
Women are eating microwave food every day which is not good for their mental or physical health. People can’t afford fresh fruit. All of this is meaning people are mentally very low.
Women are prisoners in their homes. Their incomes don’t allow them to socialise in the way many people are used to so the television is the only entertainment.
