Poverty ‘can best’ be beaten by work

Staying in work is the “best antidote” to the growing problem of
pensioner poverty.

David Gardiner, chairperson of the Lambeth Pensioners Forum, said
that employers and older people need to be offered “incentives” to
stay in work and that the system of means-tested benefits must be
reviewed.

He said: “The best antidote to growing poverty is the opportunity
of staying or returning to work. The government needs to hone in on
the word ‘work.’

“We need to look at the whole system of means-tested benefits so
that older people are not punished for trying to earn a few extra
pounds,” he said. “The retirement age will inevitably have to go up
and we need new incentives to encourage older people to stay in
work and for employers to keep them there.”