A national crusade to end pensioner poverty is needed because 2.8 million older people don’t have enough money to live in dignity, Sir Keir Starmer has been told. Pensioners are “cutting back on essentials like food, energy use and seeing friends, in an attempt to manage costs”, an investigation has revealed.

But the problem is hidden because of the pervasive stereotype that older people are living lives of luxury while younger generations suffer. Ministers were urged to draw up a UK-wide strategy to ensure every pensioner has the minimum income needed for a dignified retirement, and to appoint a champion for pensioners to ensure their voices were heard.

The shocking findings were published in a report by the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee, chaired by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams. She said: “After decades of contributing to society dignity in retirement is the least you deserve. But too many are forced to make sacrifices that will accelerate their ageing because they don’t have enough to live on.”

Today’s report warns that 1.9 million pensioners, around one in six, are officially classed as being in relative poverty while 2.8 million live in households below the Minimum Income Standard, which is the amount academics say is needed for a basic and dignified standard of living.

The problem will grow worse because growing numbers of pensioners live in privately-rented accommodation, with rents that they struggle to pay.

Increases to the state pension age, which rose to 66 in 2020 and is due to rise to 67 by the end of 2028, have also added to poverty, MPs said. While the change is meant to reflect rising life expectancy, many people in deprived parts of the country are unable to work so late in life until because of ill health, forcing them to rely in disability benefits instead.

In addition, people in 700,000 households eligible for Pension Credit are failing to claim the benefit.

The MPs said: “The picture that has been presented to us in this inquiry, of those older people experiencing hardship, is very different to the general stereotypes of well-off pensioners and is one that is often overlooked in policy and media debates.”

The inquiry heard from campaigners Age UK, who warned that many older people’s lives were “financially constrained and insecure, leaving them unable to meet their basic needs.”

And Independent Age argued that “public perceptions of the wealth held by everyone in the older generation” risked masking the “challenges faced by those with the lowest incomes and wealth.”

MPs welcomed the Government’s decision to revive the Pensions Commission, which will look at why pensioner poverty is growing. But they said: “The Government should commit to a cross-government strategy for an ageing society, with equity of health and well-being for older people at its centre.”

And they urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to appoint an Older People’s Commissioner for England, to ensure their interests are being heard in decision-making.

A Government spokesperson said: “Supporting pensioners is a top priority, and thanks to our commitment to the triple lock, millions will see their yearly state pension rise by up to £1,900 by the end of this parliament.

“We have also run the biggest-ever campaign to boost pension credit take-up, with nearly 60,000 extra pensioner households being awarded the benefit, worth on average around £4,300 a year.

“But we know there is a real risk that tomorrow’s pensioners will be poorer than today’s, which is why we are reviving the Pension Commission, to tackle the barriers that stop too many people from saving.”