MP calls for urgent action plan to tackle pensioner poverty

Pensioners are being denied a “socially acceptable and dignified standard of living”, a Renfrewshire MP has warned.

- TAYLOR MURRAY

Johanna Baxter said many older people are choosing between heating and eating as she demanded increased efforts to tackle pensioner poverty.

The MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South has joined a cross-party group which is calling on the Westminster government to urgently adopt a UK wide, cross-departmental strategy to support an ageing society and tackle pensioner poverty once and for all.

The group is demanding the strategy be developed with a view to boosting uptake of pensioner credit through better outreach and design; the introduction of a taper system to ensure there is no hard cut off from benefits; and the implementation of a national minimum retirement income to guarantee a dignified standard of living in later life.