Pensioners' Cost Of Living 'Soars By 20 Per Cent'  Old People
First Posted: 18/10/11 15:28 Updated: 18/10/11 15:28   PA
Pensioners have seen their cost of living soar by around 20%
since the start of the credit crunch, Saga has said.  Compared
with four years ago, costs have risen by 14.4% for the
population as a whole but are up by 18.5% in the 50 to 64 age
group, by 20% among 65 to 74-year-olds and by 20.2% for those
aged 75 and over, Saga's figures showed.  The over-50s lobby
group said rising gas and electricity prices have
disproportionately increased inflation rates for older people.
Saga director general Ros Altmann added that anyone who has
bought an annuity, which pay out a fixed income for the rest of
their life, was seeing their buying power eroded month after
month. "Continuing to allow inflation to silently steal older
people's assets is not a recipe for economic recovery," she
said.  Patrick Bloomfield, a partner at pensions adviser Hymans
Robertson, said pensioners will also feel aggrieved a