People dying in poverty up by almost a fifth, says charity

The proportion of people dying in poverty has risen by almost a fifth in recent years, according to analysis for an end-of-life charity.

More than 111,000 people are estimated to have died in poverty last year across the UK, up from 93,000 in 2019, research by Loughborough University for Marie Curie suggested.

While previous research from the charity has monitored the scale of people dying in poverty, a new report also indicated around 128,000 people died in fuel poverty in 2022, including 110,000 pensioners.

Researchers said those in the last year of life experienced increased rates of fuel poverty – defined as having inadequate income to heat a home to a reasonable temperature – compared to those not at the end of life.

They said this could be due to terminally ill people being more likely to need to heat their homes to a higher temperature and for longer, needing to run medical equipment, and losing income if they are of working age.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has faced criticism, including from within his own party, for the decision to limit the winter fuel allowance to all but the poorest pensioners.

Marie Curie said the research should prompt the Government to, at a time when an assisted dying Bill is being considered in Parliament, “ensure no-one would feel any pressure to choose an assisted death simply because they cannot afford the bare essentials of a decent standard of living”.

Dr Sam Royston, the charity’s executive director of policy and research, said: “No-one should have to face their final days worrying about money or whether they can afford to heat their home.

“And no matter what way you cut it, by age, gender, ethnicity or location, rates of poverty are higher for people at the end of life than the rest of the population.

“At a time when our politicians are debating whether or not to legalise assisted dying, surely they will also want to ensure no-one would feel any pressure to choose an assisted death simply because they cannot afford the bare essentials of a decent standard of living.”

The charity said the Government should guarantee working-age people with less than 12 months to live a pension-level income and introduce a social tariff to cut energy bills for people at the end of life.

Researchers used data from the Understanding Society household survey, the Family Resources Survey and the Office for National Statistics to formulate their estimates.

They said that while the population has grown, there has also been an increase in the overall risk of poverty in recent years, affecting especially those aged 65 and older.

They suggested a social tariff giving those considered vulnerable 50% off their energy, could lift up to 54,000 (45%) dying people out of fuel poverty.

Dr Juliet Stone, research fellow from the centre for research in social policy at Loughborough University, said: “The sharp rise in poverty at the end of life reflects the increasingly difficult financial circumstances faced by low-income households over the past four years.

“It is clear that poverty at the end of life cannot be fully tackled without efforts to address poverty more generally, but people in the last year of life face additional obstacles to achieving an adequate standard of living.”

Her colleague Dr Elaine Robinson said: “Existing fuel poverty policy does nothing to help those who are terminally ill – they can’t wait for energy efficiency improvements to housing or change their behaviour to save energy.

“Working adults in particular need support to help with the loss of income they often experience at the onset of terminal illness.

“Social tariffs would offer some much-needed help, but these don’t do anything to tackle inadequate incomes – current state benefits for terminally ill working-age people fall well short of meeting the additional costs many face.”

A Government spokesperson said: “No one should suffer financial hardship because of a health condition – that’s why rules are in place to ensure those nearing the end of life can claim the support they deserve in a timely manner.

“Alongside this, we are extending the household support fund, uprating benefits and the state pension, while over one million households are set to be lifted out of fuel poverty through the biggest potential boost to home energy standards in history.”