Pension firm hands Independent Age £1.5m donation

Independent Age has been handed a £1.5m donation from Pension Insurance Corporation to support older people experiencing financial hardship amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The charity’s emergency grants programme, supporting community projects that work with older people tackling the cost-of-living crisis, will receive £1m of the donation. This match funds a £1m pledge by Independent Age to support local groups helping older people. It is expected that 50 organisations will benefit.

The remaining £500,000 will be used to expand the Independent Age’s helpline services, which provides support and advice.

According to the charity nearly half of over 65-year-olds in England are anxious about their finances and 2.1m older people are living in poverty.

Among those supported by the charity is 73-year-old retired nurse Thabani.

She said: “Before I got the help from Independent Age it was a desperate, desperate time. We had so many problems – where to get food from, how to pay the bills, gas and electric going up and paying council tax too. The house was very cold – we wore extra clothes and covered ourselves in blankets.

“I called and pleaded with our mortgage provider and negotiated what we could pay, but it was never enough. They were threatening to repossess our home. I was so scared.”

Despite saving all her life, health changes and then financial difficulties during the pandemic left Thabani scared for her future. She contacted Independent Age for support.

Watch our #BBCLifelineAppeal to see how we helped.

📺Sun 13 Nov, 1.50pm @BBCOne https://t.co/M8ZSFjNF2E pic.twitter.com/AMDudHbX9h
— Independent Age (@IndependentAge) November 12, 2022

The charity adds that nearly half of those over the age of 65 say they cannot afford a £50 per month increase in their cost of living.

Independent Age chair Julia Neuberger added: “At a time when those already impacted by the cost-of-living crisis face further rises in energy and food prices, these very welcome funds will allow us to help even more people in desperate need of support.

“Inflation and the cost-of-living crisis are clearly already having an effect as we are receiving increasingly distressing calls to our helpline from older people who don’t know how they will cope during the winter. A donation of this size will help us support so many more people.”