Boilers - Pensioners struggling with heating bills

13/11/2007

A study from the charity Help the Aged has highlighted the plight of elderly people who struggle to pay heating bills during the winter months.

According to figures from the charity, 1 million pensioners are so cash-strapped they are forced to cut their food shopping to pay their heating bills.

Meanwhile, 2.2 million try to make savings by turning off their heating, while 2 million resort to wearing heavy outdoor clothes indoors, BBC Online reports.

The findings prompted Help the Aged to call for the government to commit funding to face-to-face advice services to help the elderly to get the financial assistance they need.

TV actress June Whitfield, a patron of the charity, said: "Through an ongoing commitment to helping older people in the winter, we have learned that with the right benefits advice and support older people do receive the benefits they are entitled to."

As well as paying bills, any funding given out through the scheme could also be invested in an energy-efficient boiler, such as those from Trianco and Vokera.

Not only will these heat the home more effectively than older models, but they will also cut heating bills in the long-term.