PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Pensioners: Poverty (23 September 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the evidence given by Andrew Latto, Deputy Director; Devolution, Pensioner Benefits and Carer’s Allowance Policy, to the Scottish Social Security Committee on 23 January 2020, if she will publish the calculations supporting the Deputy Director's statement that, in the UK, 16 per cent of pensioners are in poverty [and] if all those pensioners claimed pension credit, housing benefit and the council tax reduction, especially the council tax reduction, that would reduce the 16 per cent to almost zero.

Asked by:
Chris Elmore (Labour)

Since 2009/10, material deprivation for pensioners has fallen from 10% to 6% in 2018/19.

There are 100 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (before and after housing costs) than in 2009/10.

Average pensioner incomes have grown significantly in real terms over the last two decades (average weekly income in 1994/95 was £165 a week After Housing Costs, in 2018/19 prices, compared to £320 a week in 2018/19).

For 2020/21 we are forecast to spend over £126 billion a year on pensioners – including £102 billion on the State Pension.

In 2017/18 it was estimated that 1.6 million pensioners (14%) were in Absolute Poverty (After Housing Costs) and 2.0 million pensioners (16%) were in Relative Poverty (After Housing Costs).

The latest figures for 2017/18 estimate that 1.1 million pensioner households who were eligible for Pension Credit did not claim this benefit. 0.2 million pensioner households who were eligible for Housing Benefit did not claim.

Estimate for take-up for Council Tax reduction schemes by pensioner households are not available due to the localised nature of these schemes.

The Government want to ensure that older people receive the support they are entitled to. Although more than 1.5 million older people across Great Britain already receive extra financial help through Pension Credit, research suggests there are still a significant number of older people who are missing out. That is why, earlier this year, the Department ran a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit and highlight that even a small award can provide access to a wide range of other benefits, including Housing Benefit and Council Tax reduction schemes.

Answered by:
Guy Opperman (Conservative)
6 October 2020