Canny older people play down cost of living rise
GUERNSEY’S ageing population may not notice the impact of rising cost of living expenses for some time yet, as many do not drive and are not currently paying steep heating bills.
Knock-on effects from the Ukraine invasion have caused fuel and other goods and services to shoot up in price.
Combined with the possibility of a goods and services tax being introduced in the island, many are beginning to think twice about what they are spending.
However older people have found they fit into a niche of people who are avoiding the price hikes currently.
‘I don’t worry about it a great deal – my finances are still up in the black and my food doesn’t seem to be going up that much. I’ve got a car but I ration myself to £20 a week no matter how much I put in,’ said retired plasterer Vernon Prior, who is a regular visitor to the Jubilee Day Centre, where older members of the community meet and enjoy the company of others.
‘I’m not really worried, there is nothing I can do about it, but I can’t speak for the future,’ he said.
In his Spring Statement, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced ‘the biggest net cut to personal taxes in over a quarter of a century’. In response, Policy & Resources said it had noted the announcement, but that Guernsey ‘has fewer fiscal levers it can pull on and a very different tax system which is more reliant on income-based taxes’.
Former hotel worker and regular visitor to the day centre, Helen Rihoy, said she was not concerned about the cost of living going up.
‘I think we have to look at different shops and you have to go around and find what is right – it is definitely hard for a lot of people. I don’t worry about it too much but I do keep an eye on things,’ she said.
Russells Day Centre manager Denise Cohu said that attitudes of older people were reflective of the generation they grew up in.
‘It’s a generational thing – it hasn’t impacted on them yet, we aren’t going into winter so heating bills won’t be a priority and most of them don’t drive.
‘For those who live in residential homes or have other provisions set up for food and transport – they won’t worry about it. It’s not to say that all of our day visitors won’t notice it, but it’s their nature. It’s more the staff that are feeling the pinch at the moment,’ she said.
