12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 12th Aug 2008
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700,000 pensioners are living in poverty because they are not getting the benefits they are entitled to, the Liberal Democrats have revealed.
In a Parliamentary answer to the Liberal Democrats, the Government has disclosed that 700,000 pensioners would be lifted out of poverty if they claimed all of the money that they are entitled to.
Hundreds of thousands of pensioners are put off claiming benefits by complex forms and lengthy phone applications, while many assume they aren’t entitled to any extra help.
“The benefits system is so complex it is failing the pensioners it is supposed to be helping.
“Benefits must be simplified to ensure that pensioners get the cash they so desperately need.
“The Government must stop dragging its feet and restore the link between the state pension and earnings immediately.
All this from the party of the people, i see many pensioners on my travels and of course they have never been as well looked after under Labour? I only wish i could drag one of them out of their plush offices and away from their expense accounts to visit them. A couple of weeks ago due to a serious crime i visited one forgotten pensioner living in a shocking condition. How in 2009 can this happen under a socialist government. To be honest i think they are now a party with no roots.We as Liberals will never forget the past and the people who helped to build it. Many of these people have vivid memories and a pleasure to meet.long may they reign.
INSIDE SALFORD POLITICS 