It has also allowed the BBC to scrap free TV licences for the over 75s – despite the manifesto stating the ‘value’ of free TV licences for the over 75’s – while overseeing a benefits system that takes advantage of the fact that many elderly people are too proud (or not financially sophisticated enough) to claim invaluable state payments such as the pension credit.
With inflation heading like a steam train towards 7 per cent, it’s understandable that the government is now coming under intense pressure to suspend the forthcoming hikes in national insurance contributions – increases that the Conservatives said they would never make in their manifesto ("we will not raise the rate of income tax, VAT or national insurance"). The government would be wise to listen to those who believe many households simply cannot afford these tax rises while bills are soaring.
But it’s surely incumbent upon Boris Johnson’s administration to also do something meaningful for the elderly.
Baroness Ros Altmann has been brilliant in waving the flag for pensioners. At the start of the year she came out with a manifesto for the elderly that she urged the government to respond to.
It included the call for a national campaign by the government to increase take-up of pension credit – nearly 1m pensioners don’t claim what is rightly theirs.
Altmann said: "Calling the pension credit a ‘state pension top-up’ and helping pensioners understand that the money is their right – with a national advertising campaign on radio, television, mainstream press and social media – is urgently required to raise awareness." Bang on the nail.
Her manifesto also called for an increase in the benefits available to counter rising energy bills; an increase in both the cold weather payment (£25 a week) and warm home discounts (£140 a week) that have both not increased for more than 10 years. Again, spot on. The government should act now.
One final plea. If you have elderly parents, keep an eye on them, ask how they are getting on, and help them if help is what they need.
Jeff Prestridge is personal finance and wealth editor of the Mail on Sunday
