Elderly ‘suffer from higher inflation’ than younger people

As the latest official inflation figures are released, it has been warned that the rate experienced by older people is much higher than the national average.

Figures from the Alliance Trust Research Centre (ATRC) have shown that the level of inflation faced by over-75s was 5.9 per cent in December.

This compares to the official rate of 3.1 per cent revealed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ATRC claimed that this discrepancy is due to the elderly being hit the hardest by gas and electricity price hikes and food costs.

Over-75s spend approximately seven per cent of their budget on energy bills, while the under-30s spend just three per cent on utilities, the organisation stated.

ATRC spokesperson Shona Dobbie noted that the elderly may struggle more with their debt management due to this, describing the trend as of “great concern”.

Meanwhile, the latest ONS figures showed that retail prices index inflation dropped to 0.9 per cent in December, its biggest monthly fall since 1980.

By Jamie Price