A pensioner had yogurt for Christmas dinner after he was forced to live on £4.71 for the whole of December .
Kevin Boff said his health suffered over the festive period after a mix up with his private pension plan.
It meant the 68-year-old could only afford to turn his heating on once a week in order to have a warm shower.
The former pharmaceutical industry worker suffers from Raynaud syndrome which causes pain and numbness and difficulty moving when exposed to the cold.
Kevin, from Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales, said his mental health had also suffered and that police had had to respond to concerns for his safety.
He told NorthWalesLive : "I never expected this at my age, I'm under extreme stress, and it's taken over my life.
"I've had to cut down on everything I can. It's like living in Alcatraz. I can't go out, I can't see anyone, I can't do anything. I can't live.
"I wish I'd invested in something physical , property or gold instead of a pension, to avoid this catastrophe.
"I'm having chest pains because of the extreme stress. Who knows what will happen?"
He said he signed up for a private pension with Standard Life in 1988 through a broker and was "contracted out" of his additional state pension.
Contracting out meant that people who had private pensions were able to pay less in national insurance contributions.
But Kevin said he did not know he had been contracted out, and said he believes he should have been enrolled back into the normal state pension system when he left his employment after 16 months.
People entitled to a full state pension receive £730.60 per month, but Kevin said he has £180 per month deducted because of his private pension issue.
He said it means he ends up with just £600 a month to cover all his costs.
Standard Life is investigating his case.
A spokesperson said: "We're continuing to liaise with Mr Boff. We're aware of his situation, and we have been giving it our full consideration."
The Department of Work and Pensions has been contacted for comment.
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