More than 60% of Britains over the age of 50 say that the quality of their lifestyle has gone downhill lately as they are being crippled by the combination of high cost of living, record petrol prices, tax increases and poor pay rises. As a result of this, many are having to make dramatic cutbacks to their personal spending. Saga asked around 12,000 adults in this age group about their lifestyle and how it has changed over the last 12 months.

Worryingly, at least 61% of older people have had to make cutbacks on non-essential spending. This doesn’t mean that they are living on the breadline but instead they have a lifestyle that is far less comfortable than before. Those people who took part in the survey have been forced to use their cars less, buy fewer clothes, cancel holiday plans and never eating out. Other cutbacks include occasional treats such as a trip to the cinema or having their hair cut. Those that are worse hit by the current high cost of living, around 15%, are having to cut back on ‘essential’ spending such as heating their homes.

One of the biggest problems for the Over 50’s is that they have seen their hard earned savings collapse as the Bank Of England has kept the base rate at an historic low of 0.5% for more than 2 years. This is a disaster for savers who are earning rates as low as 0.01%. The report by Saga has also shown that disposable incomes for this age group are falling amid tax rises, the VAT hike and changes to National Insurance.

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