Age Cymru response to the Work and Pensions Committee: Pensioner Poverty: challenges and mitigations

This new report from the Work and Pensions Committee is a wake-up call: highlighting growing pensioner poverty and the impact this has on older people’s health and wellbeing.

In our latest survey (2025) almost half of older people told us that the cost of living has been a challenge in the last year, and two thirds told us that they have made changes to their lives in the past 12 months because of financial pressures.

Older people are cutting back on essentials such as food, heating, and socialising to make ends meet. Many are now finding they have nothing left to cut but prices are continuing to increase. This is leading to poorer physical and mental health, loneliness and isolation and challenges the efforts that are being made to support healthy ageing.

We need to see continued efforts to increase Pension Credit uptake, around 56,000 older people in Wales are eligible but not claiming it. We support the need for proactive approaches to individuals that are likely to be eligible for Pension Credit coupled with information, advice and support to claim. We also support the Committee calls for consideration of a taper to Pension Credit to “mitigate the cliff-edge effect” for those who miss out.

Age Cymru Chief Executive, Victoria Lloyd says:

‘We urge the UK Government to act on the report’s recommendations to end pensioner poverty and help older people live with dignity. We were glad to share older people’s concerns directly with the committee during the evidence session in May’.