20th December 2000

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Northern Ireland needs to radically rethink how it deal with pensioner poverty, according to a survey released today by the University of Ulster.

Report author, Professor Eileen Evason, describes the level of pensioner poverty in Northern Ireland as ‘depressing’.

The survey, which is part of the Life and Times Study funded by the Nuffield Foundation, revealed that:

· 65% of single pensioners and 50% of pensioner couples can be described as being hard pressed financially.

· 45% of pensioners reported a longstanding illness or disability.

· 46% of pensioners interviewees admitted that they were just about managing financially; a further 9% said they were finding it difficult to make ends meet.

· Appropriate benefits do not seem to be reaching all those with possible entitlement.

· The Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are not reaching all who may be entitled to them.

· Half the respondents worried that they would need residential or nursing home care in the future.

· One in ten pensioners may be entitled to the Minimum Income Guarantee for pensioners (Income Support) but are not claiming it.

Eileen Evason, Professor of Social Administration at the University of Ulster, and who conducted the survey, said:

“Given that Northern Ireland has a strong network of advice and community centres helping people to claim their entitlement, these results are depressing.

“We had hoped that the Northern Ireland figures on take up would be better than those for Britain but this would appear not to be the case.

“A further point is that government is relying on means tested benefits to deal with poverty amongst the elderly but this strategy will only work if that help is claimed. Substantial efforts are being made by government to encourage claims but, at root, our data suggest that this strategy will never be fully effective.

“It is time to think of a new approach to dealing with pensioner poverty.”

A copy of the full report is available in Adobe Acrobat

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk