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| THE VOICE APRIL 2023
News Feature
Elderly hunger timebomb driven by lack of savings
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LACK BRITISH pensioners are going hungry because they do not have enough money to live on. Experts say thousands of Black pensioners are facing a food crisis, and they warn of a timebomb in future over the lack of savings of working-age Black women. This comes after an alarming report by Scottish Widows last month found over half (54 per cent) of Black women don’t have anything saved for retirement. High unemployment and lower earnings due to systemic racism are blamed for the disparity. Pensioners and campaigners say the current crisis among elderly Black Britons is leaving them hungry, cold and forgotten. Kathleen Francis, from Perry Common in Birmingham, is due to retire in May this year, and says she doesn’t feel prepared. Speaking to The Voice, she can barely make ends meet in the cost of living crisis. “It’s been hard but I’ve tried to stretch out as much as I can, it hasn’t been easy,” she said. “I am worried because if you’re over a certain amount there are a lot of benefits and help that is cut off from you.” She says other friends and family members who are approaching retirement are extremely “worried” about their future in Britain, as energy prices and the cost of food continue to rise. Ms Francis worked in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham for over 34 years and says she was “opted-out” of her workplace pension scheme some time ago. She said: “We didn’t have an option, we were told it’s best to, so we did.”
Half of Black women have no retirement pot as experts call for urgent action. By Sinai Fleary Ms Francis, who is 65, said despite her retirement just weeks away, she is still unsure how much money she will get to live on to pay for her food and heating bills. “I’m waiting on an adviser to let me know exactly what I am getting and I also heard that it will be taxed, so I still don’t know. “All I know is the government pension is short because even though I’ve done 45 years, it’s still short because I was opted-out.” Looking back on her career, she said her working environment changed and became “toxic” when a new man-
being forced out of her job. She said the agreement was later withdrawn by the new management team and she walked away with just 12 weeks’ pay. In 2013, she was signed off sick after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia — a debilitating health condition which causes severe pain and excessive tiredness. While on sick leave, Ms Francis was forced to rely on benefits for the first time and was receiving Employment Support Allowance (ESA) before being transferred onto Universal Credit. She said the last nine years
I am worried because if you’re over a certain income there are a lot of benefits and help that is cut off from you agement team took over. “I worked there for 30-odd years without a single warning,” she added. But according to Ms Francis, when new directors took over, she began to receive “written and verbal warnings” based on hearsay and about her “attitude”. She went to her union for help, but her mental health deteriorated because of the unbearable atmosphere at the job she once loved. After dedicating 34 years to the company, she negotiated a settlement deal after
have been “difficult” and she is grateful she has been able to manage without taking any money out of her pension. She added: “I thank God I didn’t take any money out of my pension back then because it would have affected me now.” Selina Flavius is the founder of Black Girl Finance (BGF), a platform and event that puts Black financial experts and Black women together, to discuss how to address financial inequalities for Black and ethnic minority women. Speaking to The Voice, she said she was “deeply shocked”
by the findings in the report and said a “huge number of women are unprepared” for when it is time to finally stop working. “If there is a workplace pension available to you, make use of it. “If you are earning over £10,000 you are auto-enrolled into it and you have to opt-out, so for anyone who has optedout consider opting back in as soon as possible.” “You pay in, your employers also pay in,” she added. Ms Flavius, from Hertfordshire, said gone are the days where people are guaranteed a “job for life” and many have changed jobs over the years — which leaves thousands of pounds “lost” or unclaimed from past workplace pensions. She urged people to find the “paperwork” or use pension tracing services to get access to any previous pensions. She added: “Try and keep track of your current pensions if you are moving jobs in the future.” The finance coach says it is crucial to include where you would like to live when you retire into your financial plans, and any dreams to go ‘back home’ should also be factored in. She said: “I know a lot of Black women are self-employed because we tend to move out of the workplace, think about setting up your own pensions for yourself, you can use platforms such as NEST and an app called Get Penfold.” In recent years, the term generational wealth has become a popular buzzword in the Black community, but what does it actually mean? Generational wealth is a term Continued on page 20
HERE TO HELP: Black Girl Finance’s Selina Flavius is looking to fight the ine uality
