Over 50s are Experiencing Financial Hardship

A new report published by Saga has revealed that over 60 per cent of over 50s are experiencing financial difficulties and have had to make cutbacks in their lifestyles. This just means that they are not as well off as previously but they are not suffering severe hardship.

Millions of older people have been greatly affected by a number of factors including the steeply rising cost of living, tax increases, poor pay rises and soaring petrol prices.

The cutbacks include not being able to use their car so often and having to cut down on buying clothes, perhaps going less often to the cinema and eating out less frequently.

The report is based on interviews with 12,000 over 50s on how their lifestyles have changed within the last 12 months.

The Director General of Saga Dr Ros Altman said that older people's quality of life had "crashed again", adding: "Financial burdens for the over-50s have worsened with living costs soaring. We are witnessing a significant decline in discretionary spending. This has worrying implications for the whole economy."

Nevertheless, the good news is that this drop in living standards has had little impact on the happiness index of people in their 50s. Dr Altmann added that "the over 50s are trying to remain positive and stoical as proved by the stability in their overall happiness since January."

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