The government postponed a decision on bringing forward the State Pension age increase. We issued a comment welcoming this decision that was featured in The Guardian. They also referenced our research that shows that previous rise in the state pension age had resulted in increased poverty among older people.
72 organisations have joined together to call for better representation for older people across government-policy making. Led by charities Independent Age, Age UK, the Centre for Ageing Better and campaigning organisation the National Pensioners Convention, the group has today launched its consensus statement on the need for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England. The campaign launch received coverage in The Mirror and The Express
Following the Chancellor's Spring Budget, several of IA's media volunteers were used by national press in profile pieces discussing the impact the budget would have on different groups. Yvonne spoke to the Daily Mail, Veronica spoke to The i (print) and Thabani submitted a question to ITV's consumer editor. All articles mention Independent Age.
This article covers the expected rise in energy bills coming in April, following the end of the government's energy price guarantee. The i interviewed IA media volunteer Veronica on her experience of the cost of living crisis. The article also used a comment from Morgan Vine, Head of Policy and Influencing, who described the expected rise of £500 to be 'catastrophic' for those already struggling to pay bills. Read the article here
Following IAs release of the report “"'Not enough to live on’: Pensioner Poverty in Scotland”, several Scottish outlets picked up on the story. The Herald ran with it both in print and online outlining key statistics such as the extra 25,000 Scottish pensioners in poverty since 2008 and using quotes from participants from the study.
An Op-ed from Debbie Horne, our Scotland Policy and Public Affairs manager, also went out the same day as the report was released. It was published by The Herald (print), The Poverty Alliance and on our own Medium blog : We need a pensioner poverty strategy for Scotland
Following the DWP releasing their Pension Credit caseload statistics for 2022, Independent Age reacted by praising the apparent increase in uptake. However, the lack of data regarding how many people still weren't receiving Pension Credit led IA to call for greater clarity on how many people are still missing out on the benefit. The story was picked up in England and Scotland with both the Daily Record and The Express running stories using IA's statement. The Express also used quotes form IA media volunteer Yvonne about the positive impact Pension Credit has had on her life.
The i did a long read article on the issue of pensioner fuel poverty. This follows a recent survey by Independent Age in which 50% of retired people said they were worried about not being able to pay their energy bills over the next six months. The i spoke to Morgan Vine, Head of Policy and Influencing, who revealed harrowing stories from the IA helpline and called for more government support. The i also spoke to IA media volunteer Thabani, who spoke about the help she received from IA and the huge difference Pension Credit has made in helping her pay bills. Read the full article here.
With Valentines Day approaching, Independent Age circulated a press release warning older people of the growing issue of romance scams. The story was picked up by The Express, who's article included a statement in the issue from Fran McSweeney, our helpline number and our tips for spotting scammers. The article also discusses IA's partnership with nationwide aimed at tackling scammers targeting older people.
