"With such a large share of their income going on basics such as food and heating‚ it’s not surprising that many pensioners are feeling hard hit at the moment. Despite inflation falling‚ many of the oldest and poorest have yet to see a reduction in their weekly bills‚ as the cost of basics such as food and energy continues to fall more slowly than other goods.

“With over half of pensioners feeling forced to cut back on essentials‚ it is simply not good enough that up to £5 billion in money benefits is failing to reach millions of older people every year. The Government must focus its attention on helping the poorest pensioners through the recession and move quickly towards paying money benefits automatically to all those entitled."