Who's doing better: old or young?

Given that there is yet more comment today on how much better older people have been doing in financial terms -- supposedly -- than everyone else, it's worth having a a closer look at the figures.

The "elderly have done best in the austerity years" mantra is an important one, because it is likely to be used in the debate over whether all pensioners should carry on getting Winter Fuel Payment and free bus passes -- and, crucially, whether the Triple Lock should continue.

The Triple Lock is the guarantee that the state pension will be raised each year in line with average earnings, inflation or 2.5%, whichever is higher.

The latest ding-dong over this was prompted by official figures showing that while the typical incomes of working households have fallen sharply in real terms during the downturn, retired households have actually enjoyed an increase.

Here are the numbers: retired households up 5.1% between 2008 and 2012, working households down 6.4%. (Note, there's a fall because the income figures are adjusted for inflation or price increases.)

It's a big contrast. However, and weirdly, when this trend is highlighted, there is seldom any mention of how much money pensioners are actually getting -- or how little.

So let's look at some data in yesterday's Family Spending survey, which includes an analysis of the disposable incomes of different households and age groups. Disposable income is what you have after tax and National Insurance are taken off.

Non-retired households with two people received an average of £748 a week last year, retired households with private pensions and some work got £501 and those mainly dependent on the state pension had £295 a week.

The matching numbers for one person households were £336, £285 and £174.

If you look at household disposable income by age, it was nearly £700 a week on average where the homeowner or renter was between 30 and 64 years of age, but £478 for those between 65 and 74.

What's particularly interesting is that income falls with age through the years of retirement years. The figure for households with someone aged 75 and over is just £341 a week.

The reason for the decline is that the older people get, the less likely it is that someone in the house is carrying on with some form of paid work and the more dependent the household becomes on the state pension.

Of course, this is the reason why campaigners for the elderly point out that 1.5 million pensioners live in poverty. And they would say it is one reason for having the Triple Lock.

So the situation is:

*incomes of retired people have been rising faster

*but their incomes are lower to start with

NB Here are the household income tables. A37 and A38 are the relevant ones.

Shameful scams on older people

The Insolvency Service is warning that it has closed down 78 companies in the last 3 years which were operating scams and specifically trying to target elderly people.

Some offered mobility equipment such as stair lifts, either not delivering the goods or overcharging. Others ripped off their victims over fine wines, fire alarms or worthless plots of land.

2,000 were affected, losing £28m. But it's quite obvious that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Trading standards officers around the country are dealing with more cases every day.

Older people and their families need to be on their guard, because in these tough times rogues may be even more tempted to try it on.

88 year-old May Bell was one of the victims, after a salesman came in to her home to flog her a stair lift.


She was left £1,800 out of pocket and trapped on the ground floor of her house, because the company didn't complete the installation.


Another victim described to me how the calls multiplied once he had had a brush with one of these con merchants.


He doesn't want to be named but he lost tens of thousands in a rip-off using gold coins.


Everything seemed to be going fine to start with - that's a hallmark of a lot of these operations. They string you along to gain trust.


After doing various successful deals, he sent off some valuable coins to be sold. Then - nothing. Until the police swooped on the perpetrators.


But new companies started to phone him with similar offers. Each one that gets shut down spawns several more masquerading under different names, as the fraudsters move on and spread out.


So once your loved one is a list, he or she will be contacted again by the same unsavoury characters, or by friends who have bought the list.


There is an even more sinister side.


Suspicious types will scour a neighbourhood, looking for tell tale signs which betray where an elderly or vulnerable person might live.


It might be that a mobility scooter has been left outside, or that there's a handrail on the porch. Or they just keep an eye out, watching who goes in and out and whether friends or family are around.


It's nasty, but it really happens. Some will leave marks on the wall to indicate whether the occupant has money and is easily conned. (Here are some more of the tricks they use.)


How can you deal with this? Don't accept sales calls by phone or at the door - say no. Do arrange to have someone you can call on for advice.


As for family and friends, it's our duty to check and keep checking and make sure that a vulnerable person knows how to contact us to ask for help and advice.


Here is some useful information from Age UK, Citizens Advice, and the Financial Services Authority.

Jobs after pension age

The number of people working on after they qualify for state pension has nearly doubled to 1.4 million over the last 18 years.

According to the Office for National Statistics, women are most likely to stay in work, usually in a part-time job.

12 per cent of older people now choose to work on, beyond 65 for men and for women beyond 61 as the female pension age starts to move up in line with men.

Often it's because of pressure to top up the state pension, but many simply choose to stay active and earning.

A large number are part-time or self-employed, though the share in full time work could grow now that employers have been forced to scrap compulsory retirement ages.

Women make up nearly two thirds of those working on, most frequently as cleaners, administration assistants, care workers and in shops.

Jobs topping their list for men are farming and driving taxis.

The tricks scamsters use to find you

My report on the rip-offs perpetrated on the elderly and disabled by some doorstep traders might raise this question in some minds: how do they know who to target and which doors to knock on?

Well here are some answers...

1. They look for telltale signs outside the house, such as grab rails or walking sticks.

2. They look at the electoral roll for names from a bygone era, such as Vera, Frank or May. Then they visit or phone.

3. They trade lists of likely names - suckers lists - with co-conspirators in the pub.

4. Some leave symbols outside houses to indicate to other scamsters whether the occupant is worth a try - bit like these. It could be a mark on the gatepost or a wall indicating that there is a single female inside, or a wealthy person or a good prospect.

Scary, isn't it?

What it means is that vulnerable people need to take special care not to let anyone in whom they don't know.

Relatives and friends should take note and help.