A Labour MP has called for the VAT rise to be deferred, claiming that older people on lower incomes will be left £8 billion worse off once the state pension is linked to earnings next year.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the 2.5% VAT rise in his first Budget, a move that Labour MP John Robertson claims will laden older people with billions of debt until 2015.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb was urged by Mr Robertson at Commons question time to persuade the Chancellor to defer the VAT rise that will be introduced in January 2011.

Mr Robertson, MP for Glasgow North West, said: "That earnings link will not help older people as of January when they start to pay their VAT. It amounts to nearly £8 billion over the life of the Parliament."

He asked Mr Webb: "When are you going to stick by your promise with your party during the general election that you would fight any VAT rise?

"What are you going to do to protect those who through no fault of their own are left with these enormous debts thanks to your Government?"

Mr Webb said: "I am not sure whether you are aware that the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that since the election the size of the country's structural deficit is £12 billion larger than was thought at the time of the election.

"I don't know where you would have found that £12 billion from.

"In terms of pensions, not only will we restore the earnings link but in April 2011 the full value of the cash increase in the state pension will go through to the poorest pensioners on pension credits."

Find out more about pension credits and Pension Advice from Age UK.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) patches may be safer than tablets, researchers have said.

Researchers have found that low dose Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) patches may be safer than tablets.

Patches containing a low dose of the hormones oestrogen or progesterone, or both, carry less risk of stroke than if HRT is taken in tablet form, they said.

However, the risk increases significantly with high-dose patches - with women up to 90% more likely to suffer a stroke than if they are not on HRT.

Meanwhile, women on HRT tablets have a 28% higher risk of stroke than none-users, regardless of whether their tablets contain a high or low dose of either or both of the hormones.

HRT replaces the female hormones which are lost when a woman goes through the menopause.

Oestrogen regulates a woman's periods but also plays an important role in maintaining body temperature and protecting bones.

The loss of oestrogen causes many of the symptoms linked to the menopause, including hot flushes, low sex drive, mood changes, bone thinning and night sweats.

Progesterone is essential for getting the womb ready for a possible pregnancy but its loss does not have the same dramatic effect on women as the loss of oestrogen.

HRT controls all these symptoms and can help cut the risk of a woman developing osteoporosis and bowel cancer.

However, HRT has been found to slightly increase the risk of stroke, breast cancer, endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer.

A review of clinical trials in 2005 found all types of HRT increased the risk of stroke by about a third.

Age UK charity also offers commercial products such as travel insurance, with no upper age limit and covers medical conditions where possible”*. Read the original article here:  “HRT Stroke Risk Research Released“

* Subject to medical screening and acceptance by underwriters

Eating a healthy diet can help cut the chances of developing cataracts - which in some cases can lead to blindness.

In some cases cataracts can lead to blindness. A study has now found that a healthy diet can help cut the chances of developing cataracts.

A study has found that reducing the levels of fatty food and salt consumed significantly protected women from the lens-clouding eye disease that is the world's primary cause of eye-sight deterioration.

US researchers handed out a survey to almost 2,000 women aged 50 to 79 and examined their eating habits, giving them a Healthy Eating Index score based on the results.

Participants with higher scores consumed less than the guideline levels for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and salt-derived sodium.

They also ate vegetables, fruits, grains, milk and protein-rich meat, beans, fish or eggs at recommended or higher levels.

Women with the top 20% of healthy eating scores were found to have a 37% lower risk of developing cataracts than those in the bottom fifth of the table.

Although diet was the biggest risk factor, smoking and obesity were also linked to the disease, as was having brown eyes, being short-sighted, and high blood pressure.

The researchers, led by Dr Julie Mares from the University of Wisconsin, wrote in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology: "Lifestyle improvements that include healthy diets, smoking cessation, and avoiding obesity may substantively lower the need for and economic burden of cataract surgery."

Cataracts are caused when cloudy patches appear in the lens of the eye making vision blurred or misty.

In the UK, more than half of people over the age of 65 are believed to have some cataract development in one or both eyes.

Age UK charity also offers commercial products such as travel insurance, with no upper age limit and covers medical conditions where possible”*.

* Subject to medical screening and acceptance by underwriters