A retired shipyard worker with no next of kin has told how he leaves his will every night in case he dies.
John Foster, 76, who appeared on Channel 4 Dispatches program Britain’s Forgotten Pensioners, said he has turned off his empty fridge and is left in the dark because he can’t afford to pay his utility bill.
He said he put a carton of milk by the door every night to keep it cool and save on bills.
The pensioner, from Sunderland, lives alone in the house he used to share with his parents and two siblings, and talked about his daily struggles to cope with isolation and the financial pressures of the rising cost of living.
‘I’m all alone. I don’t even have relationships anywhere, I’m just here, that’s all. Existing,” he told the documentary.
John Foster, who appeared on a Channel 4 Dispatches program called Britain’s Forgotten Pensioners, shows how he makes his will before going to bed
‘I’m all alone. I don’t even have relationships anywhere, I’m just here, that’s all. Existing,” he said in a heartbreaking interview
The heartbreaking program showed Mr. Foster putting down his will and funeral arrangements before going to bed in case he passed away in the night.
“I started this when my sister died. I have no family – they’re all gone – so there’s no one to do this kind of thing,” he said.
“When someone comes into the house, this is the first thing they’re going to see. They call the undertakers, they come out and everything is taken care of.’
Asked if he ever feels sad, Mr. Foster said, “You should say ‘do you ever feel happy?” Because I’m sad all the time.’
The pensioner explained that his brother, a miner, died four days before his 41st birthday, while his sister died five years ago. His mother and father died within 27 hours of each other.
‘I have no family, never been married, no children. Family, if you lose one or two that’s bad enough, but if you lose them all, you’re on your own and it’s just a nightmare,” he said.
“I can’t believe I’m the last one here. You have to wrap your head around it, you just can’t figure it out.’
The documentary showed Karen Noble, of the local charity Pallion Action Group, as Mr. Foster helped access benefits so he could pay utility bills and proper meals.
In total this amounted to an extra £131.25 per week which the pensioner did not know he was entitled to.
He said afterwards: ‘I’m getting a lot more money now, which I’ve been entitled to for a few years and I didn’t know, I had no idea.’
Mr. Foster can now afford to go shopping and is no longer dependent on food banks.
Living alone in the house he used to share with his parents and two siblings, the 76-year-old talked about his daily struggles to cope with his isolation
Mr. Foster stays in the dark at night to avoid paying for his electric lights
Ms Noble said: ‘I know there’s a lot of information online, but we all know older people who don’t go online.
“In John’s case, if someone had been sitting, when his sister had passed away and was alone, and asked what was wrong, it would have emphasized that he needed some extra support.
“Nobody did it, so whose responsibility is it and how are we going to fix it? I find it shocking that we have a 76-year-old man who could have been on an allowance for ten years and no one picked it up.’
A Channel 4-commissioned National Energy Action survey for the documentary revealed the problems older people face as a result of rising gas and electricity bills.
It revealed that one in five (19 per cent) over 65s went to bed earlier than usual for warmth, while 1.8 million elderly people switched off their heating completely this winter to save money.
Meanwhile, three in five (59 percent) over 65s said they used their heating less than usual.
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said: ‘Many viewers will be shocked by this program and rightly so.
For a generation, pensioner poverty fell steadily, then rose again and now, as this documentary shows, it’s really back.
“What we are seeing in this program should be a wake-up call that sparks an important discussion about how we can ensure that every older person can live with dignity and dignity, free from the fear of the next big, prohibitive bill. ‘
Mr. Foster’s will and funeral arrangements are on a couch in his living room for someone to find when they come in after his death
Struggling households will get a small boost next month as Ofgem lowers its price cap to just over £2,000 a year – a saving of almost £450.
Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight forecasts that the price cap will drop by £446 to £2,054 a year, based on falling wholesale energy prices.
However, campaigners warned that households will not feel any relief for the next seven years, with utility bills set to remain high until 2030 at the earliest.
“We do not currently expect bills to return to pre-2020 levels until the end of the decade at the earliest,” said Cornwall Insight.
The fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) said bills would remain ‘prohibitive’ for many due to the government’s decision to cut its winter support packages.
You can watch Britain’s Forgotten Pensioners: Dispatches now 4oD.
