In a report, the association therefore calls for raising the old-age minimum to the level of the poverty threshold.
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Two million people are living in their senior years below the poverty line, warns the annual report of the association Les Petits Frères des Poors, published Monday September 30. This figure corresponds to people aged 60 and over who live with less than 60% of the median standard of living (i.e. 1,216 euros per month for a single person and 1,824 euros for a couple). The association therefore calls for raising the minimum old age to the level of the poverty threshold.
Poverty affected 10.6% of 65-74 year olds in 2022 compared to 7.5% in 2017, according to INSEE. However, seniors are less affected than the general population: nine million people in France live below the poverty line, or 14.4% of the population. Living as a couple protects against poverty, which affects 18.8% of single elderly people, compared to 6.4% of those living as a couple, according to INSEE.
Women, who live longer than men, are more exposed. In addition, the less work of women among the older generations, cut careers to follow their husbands in professional changes, part-time work to take care of their children or loved ones, have resulted in lower retirement pensions. . Added to this are divorces and separations which reduce their standard of living.
If living alone exposes you to poverty, it also reinforces isolation. Four out of ten people have refrained from going to restaurants, gone on vacation or limited their travel over the last twelve months, 26% have refrained from inviting their loved ones.
Even if their daily lives are made up of calculations and deprivations, the people questioned by the survey do not define themselves as poor, a word which for them corresponds to situations more serious than theirs. More than one in two people receive no help and feel poorly informed. Three quarters are uncomfortable with online administrative procedures.