A little stone and slate cottage in a rural village is the chocolate-box cliché of Lakeland. It seems idyllic, but life in those stone cottages can be far from cosy. For the elderly who live in them – some may have been born there – their homes are a trap.

The buildings are old and difficult to insulate and heat. Some can’t afford the bills to heat them.

Elsewhere, elderly parents have remortgaged or used their savings to help their children get on the property ladder and now they are facing financial hardship as a result.

The truth for many elderly people – especially those in rural areas – is a life of scrimping and getting by.

Nearly one million people aged over 75 live in poverty and need more help from the Government, according to the charity Independent Age.

It says the income of those aged over 75 is, on average, £3,000 a year less than younger pensioners.

In a report published this week, Independent Age defined the “poverty threshold” for a single pensioner as £182 a week before housing costs. For couples, its figure is £272 per week.

Added to this, an estimated 750,000 over-75s are entitled to pension credit but are failing to claim to top up their income, it claims.

Andy Auld says increasing numbers of older people are seeking help because of debt problems.


Andy Auld The chief executive at Citizens Advice Carlisle and Eden says poverty and debt go hand in hand and affect many older residents across the county.

The key message is to ask for advice from an accredited service to ensure that you are receiving the right amount of pension, pension credit and any benefit you may be entitled to.

Last year, the Carlisle and Eden branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau counselled 174 people over the age of 60 with debt issues.

Some owed more than £30,000.

“We have a number of people who owe between £20,000 and £30,000 and we have four with over £40,000-worth of debt,” he says.

“We have always has a large number of clients who are older people, but compared to 10 years ago, we have seen increasing numbers of older people coming for debt advice.

“A significant number had an income of less than £15,400 which is regarded as the poverty line.”

One cause is that some parents have remortgaged to help their children onto the housing ladder.

But some continue to live in old homes that have not been updated in decades.

Under the old system ... Eden was the most fuel-deprived district in England and Wales

Properties such as the traditional stone cottages are almost impossible to upgrade and insulate properly.

Mr Auld says: “Under the old system of measuring fuel poverty, Eden was the most fuel-deprived district in England and Wales.

“It is not under the new system, but it’s because of the age of the houses and particularly the difficulty in insulating these properties.

“They can come to us and we can look at expenditure.

“We have a worker who just looks at energy suppliers and we can help people to switch.

“Some older people are extremely savvy and will be doing price comparisons, but a significant number come to us and they have been with the same supplier for 10 to 15 years and we are saving them £1,000 a year by switching.”

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Lorraine Smyth Chief executive Lorraine Smyth points out that her group doesn’t work directly with pensioners in poverty but they are very aware of the issue in Cumbria.

“In rural areas the population is getting older and we have probably got a poorer older population,” she says.

“There is no easy solution, part of the problem is pride.

“That can be a good thing when it relates to how we live and participate in our community, but it can mean that you don’t know the people who don’t have enough money to eat or enough money to heat their homes.

“We have a huge farming community who have a low income, particularly tenant farmers.

“We are seeing a real increase in requests for community transport and the need for support with travel because people don’t have cars and there has been a reduction in public transport .”


Andy Beeforth Andy Beeforth has been shocked at the levels of poverty in the county generally, not just among the elderly.

“Low incomes and the high cost of living is an issue, irrespective of age,” says the Cumbria Community Foundation director.

“We are very keen to support older people.

“We do that specifically through the Winter Warmth Fund appeal, but we have collected a lot of personal household information through our flood appeal and it is just frightening when you see how little some people are living on. It is absolutely stark.

“A lot of people don’t have mains gas and live in stone houses that are not easy to insulate.

“Our winter warmth appeal would have supported 1,000 people across the county

“You have strong communities and generous communities and organisations out there who want to help folk.

“But Cumbrians are proud people, and there is a significant proportion who will get by and will just cope, rather than ask for help.

“That is the way they were raised.”

There is also the problem of older people not being online and technologically savvy.

“If people are active and reach out for help, they are in a much better position to cope with what life throws at them , rather than being sat at home getting cold and miserable.

“Our oldest recipient of Winter Warmth funding living independently was a 107-year-old.”

Whatever the causes and the help available, Lorraine Smyth reckons it’s an issue that will not disappear fast.

“There are real, significant issues out there but it is not easy to get at them,” she explains.

“It is very hidden and they want it to stay hidden because they don’t want their business out there.”

No one from AgeUK Cumbria was available for comment.

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Help is available at www.ageuk.org.uk/carlisleandeden or www.ageuk.org.uk/westcumbria or www.cac-e.org.uk