One in seven older people may not turn on their heating this winter due to the cost of living crisis, leading to fears many will die.
A YouGov poll revealed the shocking figure as pensioners face a choice of keeping warm or eating.
It also found 61% of over-65s will reduce the amount of heating they use, 19% plan to eat less.
But 79% of those quizzed in the poll for Independent Age feel No10 is not doing enough to help them combat the cost of living crisis.
The charity is sending a letter to Tory leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak calling for action to prevent a rise in excess winter deaths.
And it fears the crisis could be as deadly as the pandemic.
It warns: “The cost of living crisis is having a dire impact on older people living in, or on the edge of, poverty, and the worst is yet to come.
“Every day, our helpline is hearing from and offering support to increasingly larger numbers of older people who are making incredibly tough choices… skipping meals, turning the lights off and vowing they can’t afford to turn the heating on again this year.
“We are hurtling towards a devastating winter where many in later life will be forced to make dangerous cutbacks on basic essentials such as heating and food. We are very concerned this will lead to more older people dying this winter.
“A new cost of living package is required now. It must get money into the pockets of older people on low income urgently, be significant enough to match the scale of the crisis and reassure those who are struggling to afford the essentials that the Government will help them through the winter and beyond. The support package must be broad and bold enough to meet the moment and reach everyone who needs it.
“We are facing the biggest domestic crisis since the Covid pandemic.”
Appealing directly to Ms Truss and Mr Sunak, the charity added: “The next Prime Minister must immediately rise to the occasion and help the millions of older people in desperate need of support. The Government took significant action to tackle the pandemic, and a similar response is required now.
“The work starts now. You have the opportunity to form a new government which will prevent avoidable deaths and help older people in real need.
“But older people are already looking to you now for reassurance that they will not have to risk their lives this winter and beyond.
“Offering anything else is simply not an option.”
The poll also found 57% of elderly people are anxious about their finances. Other ways they plan to save cash include taking less showers.
And the survey revealed 77% of people aged 65 and over believe the cost of living should be in the top three priorities for the next PM.
'I can't go out for a cup of tea with friends - it puts you back into isolation again'
Retired receptionist Yvonne has lost two stone as she cuts out food to help cope with her soaring bills.
The gran-of-three, Yvonne is surviving on £1,000 a month from her state pension and pension credit.
But she recently had an electric bill for £45 for just one week. Yvonne said she is now dreading the winter and will only put her heating on for half an hour a day, even with plunging temperatures.
She added: “It’s terrible, I feel physically sick from the worry of it all. I’d already started cutting down on food. I am a big lady so it didn’t hurt.
“But I’ve lost nearly two stone now in three months. Just having one hot meal a day and a snack like a piece of fruit.
“I can’t keep on losing this weight. I don’t want to end up skeletal.”
Yvonne, who volunteers with Independent Age to encourage her peers to apply for pension credit, says she has no spare cash left at the end of the week.
The pensioner, from Oxfordshire, has to pay around £200 a month for electricity and believes her gas will be £350-£400, despite turning everything off at night, never using her oven and sitting under one lamp. Yvonne, who suffers from painful and debilitating fibromyalgia, said her average monthly shopping bill is £300-£400.
She added: “I cannot afford to even go out and have a cup of coffee with my friends. It puts you back into isolation again.
“I thought when I got to retirement my life would improve but bloody hell it’s got worse. It feels like the Government wants us to go and crawl in a hole and die. It feels like the oldies are forgotten.”
Yvonne said of her last electricity bill, £45 for just one week: “I nearly had a heart attack. I will try to put the heating on for just half an hour a day when it gets cold, to take the edge off. I look at my smart meter moving and I’m just horrified. I’m dreading when it’s going to get cold.
“What am I supposed to do? I can’t magic money out of the air. I can’t go back to work because of my age and disabilities. I was born in 1945 and all we had was a tiny coal fire and we scraped the ice off the inside of the windows.
“It feels like I’ve gone back in time, it’s a nightmare. In fact I feel it’s worse now than when I was a child. At least we ate well then.”
