Increasing numbers of pensioners are facing homelessness because they have still got mortgages they can't pay off or they can't find the rent each month.
That was the shocking claim yesterday from a debt charity, which said it had seen a marked rise in the numbers of people over 60 appealing for help because they were getting behind on mortgage repayments or the rent.
StepChange said that in the past pensioners who had come to them with problems had run up credit card bills or overdrafts, but the charity said this is changing and housing debt arrears are the biggest issue.
This year alone, StepChange said the amount of money pensioners who come to them have each month to live on has dropped by half from £80 two years ago to just £41 in the first quarter of this year – less than £10 a week. This has come from rising rents, the looming prospect of the Bedroom Tax for some, and falling incomes from savings, along with increased fuel bills and inflation, which are all taking their toll.
Charity Age UK launched a major campaign to persuade even previously well-off middle-class pensioners to make sure they claim all the benefits they can, after revealing that one in three over-65s is finding it hard to make ends meet.
But it is the prospect of growing numbers of pensioners actually losing their own homes – either through landlord evictions for not paying the rent or bank repossessions for not paying the mortgage – that is worrying advice bodies, charities and campaigners.
"Large numbers of older people seek help from the charity with their debts each year, usually with high levels of debt on credit cards and overdrafts but lower levels of housing debt arrears," explained Delroy Corinaldi, a director of the StepChange charity in the West. "This is changing, and last year 1,837 people aged 60 and over contacted us for help with mortgage and rent arrears – up from 1,084 in 2009."
The average rent arrears the over-60s stack up before seeking help has risen from £755 four years ago to £825 now, and pensioners are on average £4,000 behind on their mortgages when they seek help now.
"Struggling to keep a roof over your head is incredibly difficult and stressful at any age, but even more so as you get older," added Mr Corinaldi. "Nobody wants to be facing the prospect of facing homelessness in later life.
"It is crucial that anyone struggling to keep up mortgage or rent payments seeks help as soon as they realise that they have a problem because there is help available. The sooner they seek help the greater the chance that they will be able to stay in their home," he added.
Age UK launched its campaign to get pensioners to claim all they can in these tough times, after a survey revealed more than half of over-65s are worried about meeting even basic living costs like buying food and keeping warm.
A third of older people feel financially worse off than a year ago, and a fifth are saying they cut back on heating their homes, despite the harsh winter.
"We have helped thousands of older people put in a successful benefits claim over the last year, but there is much more work to be done," said Michelle Mitchell, Age UK's charity director.
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