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Stephen, 80 reached out for advice earlier this year as his and his wife Marg’s combined pension income was not stretching as far as it once could and they were cutting back significantly to cover their monthly bills
One man and his wife are now better off by £7,000 a year after finding out they were eligible for certain support and benefits.
Stephen Spirrell, 80 from Chippenham, Wiltshire reached out to the charity Independent Age earlier this year as his and his wife Marg’s combined pension income was not stretching as far as it once could. This meant they were cutting back significantly to cover their monthly bills.
Stephen told The Mirror: “I get the state pension and a small private pension that I paid a lot of money for, that was supposed to give me £400 a month, but when it came, it was only £90 a month. I think it must have been bad investments. And my wife gets just the basic state pension.
“The main thing was the heating. We’d had to turn it down and reduce how much we were using. I also sold the car because the insurance and cost of petrol were so high, I’ve not got much breath and struggle to walk, so I used a mobility scooter to get into the village. I was worried, I must admit that I lost a lot of sleep at night.”
Stephen reached out to the charity Independent Age for some advice on what he could do to combat the rising costs. During this phone call, Stephen discovered that he and his wife were entitled to certain Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits. Stephen was told he could get the higher rate payment of Attendance Allowance, and he and Marg could get the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
Guarantee Credit tops up your income to at least £201.05 per week for a single person, and £306.85 for couples. Attendance Allowance pays £101.75 a week to those on the higher rate. Alongside this, the pair were also entitled to a Council Tax reduction as well as free eye care, dental care and a free TV licence through Pension Credit. Stephen told The Mirror this extra support with both benefits gives the pair an extra £7,000 a year.
Stephen said: “I was worried before, but I’m quite happy with the way that things are going for us financially. The help we could get I’m very grateful for. The little bit of savings that I have left is not going down any further and our bills are coped with without a great deal of problems. If the pension was higher then I wouldn’t need the benefits. But you do the best with what you’ve got.”
Stephen spent much of his working life on farms and with horses. His days consisted of manual labour such as carpentry, masonry and welding, starting from 4.30am until midnight sometimes. He said: “I was getting just £2.50 an hour and that was during the 70s. I’d just get on with any work that came my way and my longest working day was three full days. I started work on the Friday night and then I went to bed on the Monday night.”
The grandfather and dad of two eventually became a maintenance manager at Bath Racecourse remaining there for 25 years, he added: “I’ve met the King, I used to take him hunting and I’ve met Queen Camilla, I took her kids to see some ponies. I met Lady Diana and the Queen as well; I met the Queen quite often at the races.”
Stephen’s wife of 57 years Marg was also a hard worker having worked on Stephen’s parents’ mushroom farm, and then as a nanny in various people’s homes. However, like many other Brits, the pair were hit by illness as they got older. Marg developed breast cancer and had to have 15 lymph nodes removed and Stephen suffered from an aneurysm and developed leukaemia after retiring.
Stephen said: “It’s been difficult lately with our health but Marg has got the all-clear now and I’m so pleased for her. I pulled through and I’ve been clear of leukaemia for the past eight years. When I left the hospital I had to learn how to walk again. It was very, very difficult. I’m very grateful to my wife, as she’s looked after me to help with all the things I can’t do on my own.”
