The median income after housing costs (AHC) for all pensioner units fell from £410 a week in 2022/23 to £407 a week in 2023/24 – its lowest median income since 2019/20 (£406 a week).
Benefit income, which includes State Pension, was the largest component of total gross income for both pensioner couples and single pensioners. This was 56% for single pensioners, while for pensioner couples it was 37%.
David Brooks, Head of Policy at Broadstone, commented: “Today’s Pensioner Income Series suggests that pensioners are seeing falling median incomes when housing costs are taken into account, dropping to their lowest levels since before the pandemic. Given the significant increases in the cost of living over the past few years, it suggests that pensioners are likely to be seeing declines in their standard of living as their household budgets become increasingly stretched.
“The data highlights the importance of the state-provided financial support, including the State Pension, which accounts for the majority of income for single pensioners and over a third of the total income for couples. In the context of plateauing incomes, the triple lock is clearly playing an important role in supporting the day-to-day household finances of less wealthy retirees. In the context of constrained public finances, this is likely to lead to speculation that the means-testing of the state pension could be considered by the Government to ensure the spend on state benefits is targeted on those that need it most. However, this would only introduce further complexity into a system that should be as simple as possible.”
DWP Pensioner Income Series report
|
