The not so golden years

 One in five pensioners – more than 2 million people – are living in relative poverty in the UK, an increase of more than 200,000 in the past year alone.

 Inequalities within older generations are some of the most extreme in society today: the wealth of the richest 20% doubled between 2002 and 2018, while that of the poorest 20% fell by 30%.

There are differences of up to 10 years in the lifespan of rich and poor pensioners and more than 17 years’ difference in the time that pensioners get in good health without a disabling illness.

Experts are concerned that people who have not yet reached pension age will fare even worse in retirement. The proportion of older people aged 55 to 64 who rent rather than own their home has reached an all-time high of 11%, compared with 6% a decade ago.

There are almost 11 million people aged 65 and over in England today, 19% of the total population. In 10 years’ time this will have increased to more than 13 million people, 22% of the population.

The state pension age has risen to 66 but employment rates among people approaching retirement age have fallen to their lowest levels since 2016.  The employment rate gap between older and younger workers is now wider than two years ago. The number of people aged 50 to 64 who are not working or looking for work has increased by 228,000 since the start of the pandemic. The employment rate in this group has fallen by 1.8 percentage points.

Caroline Abrahams, the charity director at Age UK, said: “The numbers of older people living below the poverty line seem to be inexorably rising. It’s these older people, and others whose incomes take them just above the poverty line, who are being badly hurt by the surge in energy prices.

“There is no obvious way out for them if they can’t afford their bills, except to economise on other essentials, but that’s the recipe for a miserable existence and one that can even put their health at risk.”

Number of pensioners in relative poverty in UK up 200,000 in a year | Older people | The Guardian