Credit Crunch

Are you feeling the pinch at the moment? 

Bread and butter are up by 43%, eggs are up 27% and minced beef is up 20% - not exactly luxury items…

So how do you manage when you're on a tight budget or only have your state pension to live on?

We spoke to Peter Ballantyne from the Milton Keynes Pensioners Association to find out how the credit crunch is affecting people in this area.

"More and more people are coming to us and saying how much they're suffering at the moment" said Peter.

Women are often on the lowest pensions

"Some of the stories we hear are really very harrowing indeed.  Single women seem to be hit the hardest; they're often on the lowest of pensions – somewhere around £50 per week and they are really struggling, especially if they have no other form of income coming in.

"But now, even those lucky enough to be on very good pensions are now beginning to find it difficult to manage and some of our members tell us that they've stopped using the car as much and are having to cut back on all sorts of things" said Peter.

With the prospect of a cold winter ahead, millions of pensioners and people on low incomes could face the stark choice of whether to heat - or eat.

"Some pensioners really are having to make the choice between heating their homes and eating. 

Many old people fall into fuel poverty

"By my own calculations, the price of fuel has gone up by 325% since 2003.  The Government have released figures which show that  for every 1% increase in energy bills a further 40,000 older people fall into fuel poverty, which is spending 10% or more of your total income on energy bills, and that's just terrible" said Peter.

"Pensioners, because they've often got more experience of life, seem to find ways of coping day to day, but it shouldn't be like that when you come to your retirement.

"And while everyone is certainly feeling the pinch, I think pensioners are suffering more than perhaps the rest of the population at this time."

In a recent statement, the Department for Work and Pensions told BBC News the Government's priority was to help the least well off pensioners.

It said it was spending £575m on increased winter fuel payments this year and was also working with energy companies to lower senior citizens' fuel bills.