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News: Pensioners 'worst affected by credit crunch' News: Pensioners 'worst affected by credit crunch'

Pensioners 'worst affected by credit crunch'

Mon 9 Jun 2008 - Published in Banking

Pensioners 'worst affected by credit crunch'

A survey of adults in the UK has revealed that the over-55s have been most affected by the current economic gloom.

Research by Skipton Building Society has shown that over 84 per cent of those aged 55-years-old or above have cut back on outgoings as a result of the credit crunch.

Approximately 56 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24-years-old have felt compelled to curb their spending.

The effects of the credit crunch also vary across the UK with people in the north-east and London most likely to have tightened their belts and those in Scotland and the south-west least likely to have changed their spending habits.

Steve Haggerty from Skipton Building Society said that he believes the credit crunch will ease in the short-term, making mortgages cheaper and more available.

However, he added: "The wider, global issues, such as oil prices, will continue to create pressures on the pockets of UK consumers for some time to come."

Meanwhile, financial services company Edward Jones has found that recent rises in energy and food costs mean people are reducing contributions to their pensions.