Martin Lewis warns 'people will die' as energy prices go up
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Energy consultancy experts have predicted that by next year, the price cap on household energy bills could cross £6,600. This has led to experts issuing dire warnings as such figures would hit pensioners among the hardest, as they could be left with approximately £3,000 per year once they have paid off their energy bills. On Friday Energy regulator Ofgem confirmed that from October, the price cap on household energy bills would jump by a record 80 percent to £3,549.
Meanwhile, energy experts at Cornwall Insight note that this cap is likely to surge further to £5,387 in January, and jump higher to £6,616 by April.
This is over three times what Britons are paying right now, as the price set since April 2022 was at an already record high £1,971 per year.
Based on the figures for next April, energy bills could account for 70 percent of an average state pension, even after the triple lock is implemented.
Under the triple lock next year, over 12 million pensioners are set to receive a record state pension increase as inflation reached 10.1 percent in July.
However, this may not be enough, as analysis by Citigroup predicts inflation to nearly double to a staggering 18.6 percent by spring.
The triple lock promises to raise payments by whichever is higher out of 2.5 percent, the rate of inflation or average earnings.
However, the link to average earnings was temporarily scrapped last year due to furlough artificially inflating wages.
Under the temporary double lock, state pensions increased by 3.1 percent, in line with the inflation rate for the year to September 2021.
Earlier this year, then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the triple lock would be fully reinstated which will result in pensioners getting a financial boost.
This means that by next April, the pension triple lock is expected hand out an annual average of £9,263.
This has put many pensioners in a nightmarish situation, as they spend a greater proportion of their income on heating, and thus have among the highest bills.
According to the Money and Pensions Service, four in 10 people over the age of 66 rely on the state pension as their main source of income,
Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, warned that the energy crisis was “truly terrifying” for older people living on modest incomes, according to the Telegraph.
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She said: “Millions of older people already don’t know how they will survive the autumn, let alone the winter.
“We are fast approaching a national emergency which will leave a significant proportion of the population unable to afford even a basic standard of living.”
Stephen Lowe, of pensions firm Just Group, said that the Government’s support package would “barely soften the latest spike in costs”.
He said: “Pensioners are disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs and forced rationing of their heating and electricity in winter could have severe and dangerous consequences for their health and wellbeing.”
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