Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 6 February 2014.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were living in poverty in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in each financial year since 1996-97; and what estimate he has made of the number of such pensioners in the current financial year.
The annually published Households Below Average Income National Statistics report provides figures on pensioners living below 60% of median income, After Housing Costs.
Three-year averages are used for geographies below UK level to account for volatility. As such the figures in Table 1 are given from 1996/97-1998/99 to 2009/10-2011/12.
The latest published figures cover 2011-12. No estimates are available for the current financial year.
Table 1: Population (million) and proportion of pensioners in relative low income (after housing costs) in Scotland, three year averages 1996/97-1998/99 to 2009/10-2011/12 | ||
Number (million) | Percentage | |
1996-97 to 1998-99 | 0.3 | 29 |
1997-98 to 1999-2000 | 0.2 | 28 |
1998-99 to 2000-01 | 0.2 | 27 |
1999-00 to 2001-02 | 0.2 | 26 |
2000-01 to 2002-03 | 0.2 | 25 |
2001-02 to 2003-04 | 0.2 | 23 |
2002-03 to 2004-05 | 0.2 | 21 |
2003-04 to 2005-06 | 0.2 | 18 |
2004-05 to 2006-07 | 0.1 | 16 |
2005-06 to 2007-08 | 0.1 | 16 |
2006-07 to 2008-09 | 0.1 | 14 |
2007-08 to 2009-10 | 0.1 | 13 |
2008-09 to 2010-11 | 0.1 | 12 |
2009-10 to 2011-12 | 0.1 | 12 |
Source: HBAI 2011/12 |
Table 2: Population (million) and proportion of pensioners in relative low income (after housing costs) in the UK2,1998-99 to 2011-12 | ||
Number (million) | Percentage | |
1998-99 | 2.9 | 29 |
1999-2000 | 2.8 | 28 |
2000-01 | 2.7 | 26 |
2001-02 | 2.7 | 26 |
2002-03 | 2.5 | 24 |
2003-04 | 2.2 | 21 |
2004-05 | 1.9 | 18 |
2005-06 | 1.8 | 17 |
2006-07 | 2.1 | 19 |
2007-08 | 2.0 | 18 |
2008-09 | 1.8 | 16 |
2009-10 | 1.8 | 15 |
2010-11 | 1.7 | 14 |
2011-12 | 1.6 | 14 |
Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2011-12 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Figures for the United Kingdom are not available before 1998-99. Estimates for Northern Ireland are imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02, and included in the survey thereafter. 3. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer this question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax / domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 and percentages to the nearest whole percentage point. 5. Measures for pensioners are generally presented on an After Housing Costs basis. This is because pensioners are far more likely to own their homes outright and so receive value from housing, without having to pay for rent or mortgage payments out of their current income. So for assessing pensioner poverty a before housing costs basis does not provide a good comparison of living standards. 6. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 7. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. For regional figures three year averages have been used to overcome volatility. 8. In Households Below Average Income, a household is defined as a single person or group of people living at the same address as their only or main residence, who either share one meal together or share the living accommodation. This differs from a benefit unit (family), which is defined as a single adult or a married or cohabiting couple, plus any dependent children. From January 2006 same-sex partners (civil partners and cohabitees) are also included in the same benefit unit. A household will consist of one or more benefit units. The figures above are based on households. Source: HBAI 2011/12 |
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Annotations
George Morley
Posted on 7 Feb 2014 7:46 pm (Report this annotation)
As usual, There are no figures asked for or given for pensioners living in poverty abroad but given the figures quoted here, there must be many who are in poverty due to the governments past and present continually denying many ex-pat pensioners their rightful indexing. This is nothing for the Pensions Minister to be proud of, in fact he should hang his head in shame, for the continued deprivation of the indexing that he was so vehemently opposed to and has done absolutely nothing about since taking office and even now supports. If it was bad then it is still bad with nothing having changed in the meantime. What decent person could do this except one with no moral ethics.
Jane Davies
Posted on 8 Feb 2014 6:01 am (Report this annotation)
Here is a figure Mr McClymont 550,000 pensioners are living in poverty. These are the half of British expats who have had a frozen state pension for decades. Decades of receiving a pension that decreases every year. Decades of blatant discrimination. Decades of seeing other expats receiving their annual increases whilst they get nothing. This after DECADES of paying compulsory NI contributions. Decades of theft by the DWP and the UK government. Time for this disgraceful injustice to end isn't it?
Andy Robertson-Fox
Posted on 8 Feb 2014 11:22 am (Report this annotation)
Of course, the Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, has already recognised that the freezing of pensions to just 4% -or around 550,000 individuals - is illogical, irrational and discrimininatory but that was when he was on the Opposition Benches. Production of these figures is all very well but when they are demonstrably not a true reflection of the whole position they are valueless. With the annual cost of living increasing virtually world wide then, by definition, more and more of the 4% will fall below the average household incomes level; assuming that they are not all already in that category.
Norma Maloney
Posted on 14 Feb 2014 12:24 pm (Report this annotation)
I think it is disgusting in this so called modern age that the British Government victimizes old age pensioners by freezing their pensions just because they left the UK to live with family and loved ones who are living in Commonwealth countries. These pensioners are not claiming housing benefits, health benefits, free bus passes, free TV licences, winter fuel allowances and so on. The government is saving thousands for each pensioner per year. Whilst pensioners living in the EU and the USA are getting their uprating and they are not even British territories. There are a lot of lonely pensioners living in the UK who are claiming thousands of pounds each year on benefits who would love to join their loved ones overseas, but are afraid of losing out. Waken up, If the Government would allow the upgrading it would free up some housing, free up some hospital beds, not counting the frail care homes that could be used for some thing else, the government would then save thousands of pounds from each pensioner. IF ONLY SOMEONE IN THE GOVERNMENT COULD DO THE MATHS IT WOULD SEE THE ERROR IT IS MAKING.