Marching as one

Most people living on the south coast yesterday will have taken one look out of the window and contemplated going straight back to bed.

Faced with gales and driving rain, the thought of going out of the house will not have appealed. But a hardy band of pensioners from Hampshire took up their waterproofs and walking sticks and braved the conditions to march in protest about the state of pensions.

The march, in the centre of Southampton, was to mark the centenary of the state pension and highlight the plight of older people in the county to local MPs.

With rising energy and food costs, many pensioners on the basic state pension are struggling to make ends meet. Don Harper, the secretary of the Southampton Pensioners’ Forum, says the basic pension is now only 15% of average earnings and below the poverty line.

But while many pensioners are struggling, there are ways they can boost their income. Benefits are available to poorer older people – Council Tax Benefit and Pension Credit to name but two – but many are not aware of them or how to claim, or can’t be bothered with the hassle of applying.

Romsey MP Sandra Gidley said benefits are available to pensioners if they “jumped through the right hoops”. That quote shows the nature of the problem – benefits should be easier to understand and apply for and is hopefully something the government will address later in the year as it reforms the social care system.

More immediately, the march was also timed to coincide with today’s Budget. While this protest will not have informed Chancellor Alastair Darling’s thinking there is nevertheless speculation that he will make some pensioner-friendly moves. For instance, a rise in winter fuel payment has been mooted, as has an increase in funding for social care.

Whether this happens, we will have to wait and see. But if moves are not made to make the pensioners’ lot a happier one, then protests such as this could well become a regular occurrence.