The Government use a basket of three key thresholds of income, after housing costs, to measure pensioner poverty. The most commonly used figures relate to those with incomes below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income, after housing costs.
Estimates of poverty are published annually in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ publication. The most recent estimate which can be made is for 2007-08, due to availability of data.
Latest information is provided in the following table:
Total number of pensioners Proportion of pensioners 1997-98 2,900,000 29 2007-08 2,000,000 18 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data, sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS figures are for Great Britain up to 1997-98, and for the United Kingdom from 1998-99, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
Estimates of poverty are published annually in the Households Below Average Income series. The Government use a basket of three key thresholds of income, after housing costs, to measure pensioner poverty. Absolute poverty is referred to as 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices.
A: East midlands Government office region
Latest information for the east midlands Government office region, is based on three year averages and is provided in Table 1.
Number Percentage 1997-98 to 1999-2000 200,000 30 1998-99 to 2000-01 200,000 26 1999-2000 to 2001-02 200,000 22 2000-01 to 2002-03 100,000 19 2001-02 to 2003-04 100,000 15 2002-03 to 2004-05 100,000 12 2003-04 to 2005-06 100,000 10 2004-05 to 2006-07 100,000 11 2005-06 to 2007-08 100,000 11 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data, sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. Three sample years have been combined for regional statistics as single year estimates are subject to volatility. 2. Small changes in estimates from year to year, particularly at the bottom of the income distribution, may not be significant in view of data uncertainties. 3. Numbers of pensioners have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions of pensioners in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
B: England
Latest information for England, again based on three year averages, is provided in Table 2.
Number Percentage 1997-98 to 1999-2000 2,400,000 28 1998-99 to 2000-01 2,100,000 25 1999-2000 to 2001-02 1,700,000 20 2000-01 to 2002-03 1,300,000 15 2001-02 to 2003-04 1,100,000 12 2002-03 to 2004-05 900,000 10 2003-04 to 2005-06 800,000 9 2004-05 to 2006-07 800,000 9 2005-06 to 2007-08 800,000 9 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data, sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. Three sample years have been combined for regional statistics as single year estimates are subject to volatility. 2. Small changes in estimates from year to year, particularly at the bottom of the income distribution, may not be significant in view of data uncertainties. 3. Numbers of pensioners have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions of pensioners in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.