"Energy bills to wipe out almost three quarters of state pension"

The energy price cap is expected to soar to £6,600 next April



Almost three quarters of the annual state pension will be eaten away by soaring energy bills next year amid forecasts that the price cap will breach £6,600, experts have warned.

Pensioners will be among the hardest hit during the cost of living crisis, as they will be left with just £3,000 to live on per year from the state pension once bills have been paid.

Last week, Ofgem confirmed that the energy price cap would jump by an unprecedented 80pc to £3,549 per year in October. However, Cornwall Insight, the energy consultant, expects the cap to surge to £5,387 in January before increasing again in April to £6,616.

Based on the forecasts, energy bills will account for 70pc of the average state pension even after the triple lock comes into force.

More than 12 million pensioners are on track to receive a record state pension increase under the triple lock next year after inflation hit 10.1pc in July. However, inflation is now expected to almost double to 18.6pc by spring, according to analysis by Citigroup.

Pensioners face some of the highest bills in the country, as they spend a greater proportion of their incomes on heating their homes.

Four in 10 people over the age of 66 rely on the state pension as their main source of income, according to the Money and Pensions Service.

Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, said the energy crisis was “truly terrifying” for older people living on modest incomes.

She said: “Millions of older people already don’t know how they will survive the autumn, let alone the winter. We are fast approaching a national emergency which will leave a significant proportion of the population unable to afford even a basic standard of living.”

The Winter Fuel Payment will be doubled from £300 to £600 for more than eight million pensioner households ahead of this winter. However, this will cover just one tenth of the average annual energy bill come April 2023.

Stephen Lowe, of pensions firm Just Group, said that the Government’s support package would “barely soften the latest spike in costs”.

He said: “Pensioners are disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs and forced rationing of their heating and electricity in winter could have severe and dangerous consequences for their health and wellbeing.”

As the Tories rely heavily on 'the grey vote' I somehow doubt that this will be allowed to happen.

They'll throw money at those on means-tested benefits or with large private pensions but everyone in the middle will be left out in the cold as usual.