ONS report reveals pensioners are better off
A report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed pensioners are not as poor as they were once believed to be.
According to the report, pensions who opt to work in their retirement years are wealthier compared with the rest of the population.
The study established that working in retirement provides a fourth of all income for pensioner couples, and that in 2008–09, the average pensioner couple had a weekly income of £564, or just over £29,000 a year.
Retired households now make up just 38% of the poorest fifth of all UK households - falling from 56% in 1977, said the ONS.
The ONS comments: “Although retired households’ income is lower than that of non-retired households, over the last three decades the position of retired households has improved.”
However, despite the positive picture, pensioner poverty still exists.
Approximately 1.8 million pensioners are estimated to be living in poverty, defined as 60% of median income, after housing related costs.
However, this figure is much lower compared with a decade ago, when 2.8 million pensioners were estimated to be living in poverty.
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My wife and I are on less than half the national average,[our total annual income is under £13000.) this is with a deflated private pension that we paid into being assured that we would benefit from having this.(But then we are not alone, as has been seen recently on national TV)
The pensioners in the UK are the lowest paid and highest taxed. As we have paid into this scheme by compulsory means we should by now be receiving a higher rate. Successive governments have promised to bring the pension into line with a sensible standard of living only to conveniently forget to do so when in power. The days of the Honourable Politician/Statesman is no more. I feel very let down, having worked diligently for over forty years to now have to be so very very careful as to how We allocate our monies each month.
So dear sirs if you want to do something positive for the generation that made Britain Great please get this government to honour its commitment and get a decent income for all pensioners. Thank you.