Retired Struggle with Debt as Family become Financial Lifeline
Posted on 29 September, 2010 at 18:25 by Peter Kelly
As the cost of living rises, 1.7 million adults are stepping in as a financial lifeline so that their elderly relatives do not have to face debt and struggle to maintain a good quality of life. New research by Engage Mutual Assurance show that 10% of adults are helping their retired relatives.
Of this figure, 22% are contributing to the cost of care or day-to-day expenses, and 33% have taken their parents into their own home in order to reduce the cost of living expense. These figures are worrying in itself, combined with the fact that a quarter of those surveyed fear that they will be unable to support their parents retirement, due to debt and finance worries.
Pension poverty is hitting more and more people due to a lack of preparation for their future as their pension fails to cover their outgoings, including energy bills and fuel prices.
Karl Elliott, spokesperson for insurance provider Engage Mutual Assurance says: “With the size of Britain’s retired population growing, and costs of living increasing, it is important that people save little and often towards their retirement in order to reduce the pressure on themselves and their family to make ends meet in old age.”