Yvonne DeBurgo said that ‘it gets very difficult at times’ for her to cover her costs

A pensioner who relies on the state pension has said that the likely £500 increase to the payment due to be delivered from April will not be enough to help her cover her bills.

Under the triple lock guarantee, the state pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest of total earnings growth, CPI (Consumer Prices Index) inflation in September, or 2.5 per cent.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a rise in total wage growth including bonuses to 4.7 per cent in the quarter to July.

While the final piece of the puzzle will not come until inflation figures for September are published in October, it is thought unlikely that the rate of Consumer Prices Index will be higher than 4.7 per cent.

Yvonne DeBurgo, 80, receives the state pension and pension credit, and told The i Paper that “it gets very difficult at times” for her, “particularly the cost of energy”.

“It’s just ridiculous,” she said, adding that in the summer months she has only been using her gas central heating for hot water in the morning, “and that’s costing me £25 a week.

“I don’t know what else I can cut down on apart from being in the dark all the time” with the lights off, she said, adding that she already restricts the number of clothes washes she does, for example.

Ms DeBurgo, who is a widow and lives in a rental property in Oxfordshire, said that she “can’t remember the last time I had a piece of beef or lamb” because of the expense.

‘Giving with one hand, snatching away with the other’

She said that she could not see a £500 increase to the state pension making a material difference to her “because that’s barely going to cover the cost of the rise in energy. We’re coming up to the winter months now when I’m going to need to put my central heating on,” even if just for an hour in the morning and evening like she did last year.

“Even then, my bill was exorbitant, so goodness knows what it’s going to be this year. And the 4.7 per cent is not until next April anyway, so I’ve got this winter to get through.”

She is concerned that the increase to the state pension will push her over the income tax threshold. “You’re giving it with one hand and snatching it back with the other,” Ms DeBurgo said.

“They should not be taxing it. We’ve worked all our lives; I’ve worked from the age of 16, the only benefits I’ve claimed have been pension credit.”

She said she was also “disgusted” to learn that her state pension was going to rise by 25p a week when she turned 80, as this is not even enough to buy a Freddo chocolate bar.

Head of influencing at charity Independent Age Amy Dodge said that many will be “relieved” by the news of the likely state pension increase.

“With costs continuing to rise on everyday essentials like food, water and energy, we know that the state pension is a vital lifeline for many, especially for the one in five single pensioners who rely solely on it and other entitlements.

“We are however increasingly concerned that the full new state pension is edging closer to the frozen personal tax allowance threshold.

“This cannot be allowed to happen. Their budgets are already at breaking point and cannot be stretched any further.

“The UK Government must ensure the personal allowance stays above the value of the full new state pension so that the value of annual uprating is not eroded.”

The Department for Work and Pensions has been contacted for comment.