PENSIONERS last night rounded on the Government after a minister admitted he would not be able to survive on the money the elderly get from the state.

Social Security Minister Jeff Rooker yesterday conceded to a House of Commons Select Committee carrying out an inquiry into pensioner poverty that the £78.45 minimum income guarantee (MIG) payment to single pensioners was "not enough".

Even the figure of £90 a week suggested in a recent Age Concern report as the bare minimum needed for a decent life was too low, he suggested.

Mr Rooker told the committee, which is carrying out an inquiry into pensioner poverty: "If you asked me could I live on £78.45 a week, the answer is no I couldn't. I would have problems living on £90."

Exasperated pensioners' groups said comments made by Mr Rooker, who has responsibility for pensions, underlined what they have been saying for years.

They are demanding pensions be increased to help those living on or below the bread-line.

Mr Rooker conceded that the Government needed to do more for the poorest pensioners.

But he rejected calls to increase the basic state pension of £67.50, insisting this would cost too much and would not benefit those who need it most.

"We want to do more, we have said we will do more," he said. "But it is the speed with which we are able to carry that out which is the barrier."

Mr Rooker's comments were attacked by pensioners in the region.

Margaret Richardson, who lives in Darlington, said: "I think it's disgusting to admit that the Government needs to do more when they have already had ample opportunity to help pensioners."

Ted Walker, 73, who lives in Billingham, said: "I get £78 a week and I can tell Mr Rooker that when this is all you get, you have no other choice but to live on it."

Age Concern said last night that Mr Rooker was "absolutely right" to say it would be a struggle to live on the minimum guaranteed to pensioners.

A spokesman said: "The admission backs up what we have been saying all along, that £78 is not enough to live on.

"It is now up to the Government to back up these words with action and help pensioners."

Mervyn Kohler, a spokesman for Help The Aged, added: "The Government needs to refocus its attention on how much more money it is prepared to put in to help pensioners."

Mr Rooker told members of the Social Security Select Committee that the Government's key task was to prevent people from having to survive on MIG benefits in the future by encouraging them to take up secondary pensions, whether private, occupational or stakeholder.

He said boosting the basic state pension would do nothing for poorer pensioners because it would take them above the level at which they qualify for MIG.

The minimum income guarantee tops up the basic pension for the poorest elderly people. But many fail to claim the extra money, considering it charity.

More than 500,000 elderly people entitled to means-tested MIG payments - around half of them single women aged over 75 - have not claimed the cash.

A £15m campaign, including adverts starring veteran actress Dame Thora Hird, is under way to persuade them to claim what they are entitled to.

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