Pensioners 'worse off than in jail' 

Some people in care have £3 a week to spend

One hundred thousand pensioners in old people's homes are living on allowances of as 
little as £10 a week. Most are not even receiving the £16 weekly payment to which they 
are entitled, according to new research. 

The revelation that legions of old people live on less than many prison inmates will
greatly embarrass Ministers, who have boasted of tackling pensioners' poverty. 

'We were shocked when we discovered this,' said Lorna Easterbrook, who carried out the 
study for Help the Aged. 'There's a huge sense of humiliation among these old people.
Some are getting £10 of their due allowances, but others are getting just £3 or £4 a week
after relatives or homes make deductions. This is meant to cover everything they need,
from new clothes to soap and lipstick.' 

Gillian Rooney's mother, Dora, was taken into a home two years ago, aged 89. 'It was 
initially temporary, after my father and brother died within eight weeks of each other,'
said Rooney, 'But after a few months she was falling frequently and getting confused. 
She had to stay and was required to sell the house. 

'It was traumatic to talk to her. But I remember her saying when she signed the forms
that "I don't really need much now, and at least I've got my pension". She was horrified
to find her pension was taken from her too. It made her a pauper. 

'She received just £14 a week. The home was very good, but she realised she would never
again be able to buy presents or cards for her grandchildren. It was heartbreaking to her.
Losing her house and her possessions and all her memories, and then this. She felt utterly
betrayed and died after just two years.' 

Pocket money for pensioners in care was introduced in 1948. Those who cannot afford to
pay for long-term residential care have their homes sold to recover the costs, and the 
state keeps their pension. The expenses allowance - now £16.05 - was unchanged for decades,
uprated only by inflation since Labour came to office. 

A woman in her eighties disclosed that, if she had her hair done, she could not afford 
newspapers. And a 70-year-old woman said she could no longer buy a CD or tape in spite 
of a lifelong interest in music. 

'These pensioners reveal a terrible frustration at feeling mean after a lifetime of 
financial freedom,' said Easterbrook. 'Having to take clothes, and even underwear, 
from charity shops is humiliating for people who have worked all their lives.' 

Old people were also distressed that chiropody, no longer provided on the NHS in most
areas, has to be paid for out of their allowances. A cost of £8 to £12 means no spending
money at all in weeks in which they have their feet treated. 

Women pensioners remain one of the poorest groups in Britain. Even those with occupational
pensions get less than half what men receive on average. Many women rely on their husbands'
pensions, but they usually live five years longer, so exhausting their assets. 

More than 500,000 older people live in care in Britain; around 200,000 are funded by local
authorities. 'Over half of those we surveyed did not receive their £16.05 allowance,' said
Easterbrook. 

'If that is reflected across the country, then we are talking about 100,000 people in that
position.' Many of Britain's 66,000 prisoners receive more than £10 a week to purchase
essential items. But, unlike pensioners, they do not have to pay for clothes, medical care
or haircuts. 

'It's shameful that pensioners are having to eke out an existence in this way,' said Gail
Elkington of Help the Aged. 'The Government should increase the allowance immediately and
require that older people actually receive it.' 

'My parents worked hard for decades,' said Gillian Rooney. 'They didn't even have a holiday
until late in their lives. But when she eventually needed a little help, my mother found
her world turned upside down by this terrible meanness. It all seems so unfair.' 

ben.summerskill@observer.co.uk

Ben Summerskill, society editor
Sunday January 20, 2002
The Observer

http://www.observer.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4339199,00.html
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