Skyrocketing numbers of retired people are faced with making drastic financial choices to avoid spending their sunset years at the periphery of poverty. Especially individuals nestled in care homes and those necessitating help confront escalating costs that their meagre state pensions can't compete with. One elderly gent, David Smith, laid his hardship bare for i newspaper readers, revealing the real-life crisis facing an 89 year old forced to deliberate on diminishing the "vital" professional assistance he currently enjoys as it grows increasingly unaffordable.
Currently propped up by the aged state pension - designated for those who hit state pension age before April 6, 2016 - as well as a modest £30 weekly boost from a work pension, the retiree's financial stability hangs in the balance. At a measly rate of £169.50 per week, his income is dwarfed by the robust £221.
20 granted to beneficiaries of the all-new full state pension. Also grappling with "severely limited mobility", the retiree relies heavily on support from caregivers, some organised by local council bodies to pop round four times daily. Still, Mr Smith finds this handout inadequate and currently forks out extra for additional helping hands around the house, assisting with tasks like changing bed linens and posting letters.
Mr Smith candidly confessed that this "essential" support may soon be beyond his budget on his scant pension income, since each extra carer clocks in at £15 each visit for assistance with .