May 16 2007
Rates of inflation around the UK are impacting elderly populations considerably more acutely than any other age bracket, according to the Alliance Trust Research Centre.
In news that may prompt some of those people approaching retirement to focus on their own savings habits, the recent study suggests that while headline inflation nationwide fell to 2.8 per cent this month, for those people aged over 75 this rate is closer to four per cent.
The reasons behind the disparity in inflationary pressures between consumers of different ages is put down to the rising costs of basic goods, such as utilities or food, which elderly people tend to spend a relatively large proportion of their incomes on.
"The impact of higher prices for basic goods and services, such as heating and food, almost always falls most heavily on the elderly and those on low incomes, as these households spend a larger proportion of their budgets on these necessities," explained Shona Dobbie, head of the Alliance Trust Research Centre.
"In recent years, low income and elderly households have been forced to allocate their budgets to the goods and services which have experienced the highest price changes."
Last week, inflationary pressures around the country saw the Bank of England's monetary policy committee opt to increase the base rate of interest.
