Commenting on the ONS statistical bulletin on Household disposable income and inequality in the UK: financial year ending 2017, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Independent Age, the older people’s charity, says:
“While disposable income overall has risen slightly among older people, the real story here is the growing income inequality among pensioners, driven in part by whether or not you have a private pension. On an immediate level, more effort needs to be made to identify and encourage people to claim benefits such as Pension Credit, with over a third of those entitled to it missing out on thousands of pounds extra income each year. However, on a wider level, we must recognise that pensioners are not a homogenous group, and government policy on issues such as housing, social care and benefits need to work for all older people, especially for those on the wrong side of this increasing income divide.”