Income & expenditure
Pensioner incomes rose by 39% in 12 years
Average gross weekly income of pensioners, 2006/07
• In 2006/07, pensioner couples received an average income of £508 per week, compared with £267 per week for single men and £240 per week for single women. The largest source of income for pensioners is state 'benefit income', which includes state pension income and benefits. Occupational pensions are also a significant source of income, particularly for couples.
• Average gross pensioner incomes increased by 39 per cent in real terms between 1994/95 and 2006/07, ahead of the growth in average earnings. This may seem surprising, given that during this period the basic state pension was linked to prices, which have risen more slowly than earnings. The main reason is that occupational pensions have grown in importance.
• Average incomes conceal considerable variations between poorer and richer pensioners. In 2006/07, pensioner couples in the highest income quintile received median net income 3.8 times that of those in the lowest income quintile, and single pensioners in the highest quintile received median net income 3.1 times that of those in the lowest quintile.
• In 2007, the average weekly expenditure of households headed by someone aged 65 to 74 was £321, of which over 30 per cent was spent on food, domestic energy bills, housing and council tax. For households headed by someone aged 75 or over, average expenditure was £218 per week, of which almost 40 per cent was spent on food, energy bills, housing and council tax. This was before the sharp increases in gas and electricity prices in 2008.
Source: Pension Trends
Notes: Pensioner income figures come from the Pensioners' Income Series of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which measures the income of 'pensioner benefit units', defined as 'a single adult over state pension age or married or cohabiting pensioners where one or more are over state pension age'. Expenditure figures come from the Expenditure and Food Survey (ONS), published in Family Spending 2008.
Food includes non-alcoholic drink. Council tax includes Northern Ireland rates.
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