Guidance

Pensioners’ Incomes release strategy

Updated 29 January 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pensioners-incomes-release-strategy/pensioners-incomes-release-strategy

1. Introduction

Pensioners’ Incomes (PI) provides information on the levels, sources and distribution of pensioner’s income in the UK. It also examines the position of single pensioners and pensioner couples within the income distribution of the population as a whole.

This release strategy acts as the formal notice of changes to any future releases of the PI publication.

The release strategy highlights the potential release of new statistics within the publication and announces any other developments for future publications.

The release strategy is not a static document. It will be updated as plans develop, to provide users with details of latest developments.

The development of these statistics follows the Department for Work and Pension’s statistical work programme.

2. User Engagement

The PI publication team engage with users in the following ways:

  • Data and Publication Quality Assurance Groups
  • expert advisory group consultations
  • participated and presented at the Family Finance Survey Users conference in association with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and UK Data Service (UKDS)
  • PI Stat-Xplore user guide and dataset documentation available on the UKDS
  • StatsUserNetwork – the online discussion forum run by the Office of National Statistics for users and producers of Official Statistics
  • DWP Statistical Work Programme which outlines developments to DWP Official Statistics
  • provide responses to Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests
  • other government departments
  • team email: pensioners-incomes@dwp.gov.uk

For more details of the FRS and related publications user consultation groups please see the Family Resources Survey: release strategy.

3. Confirmed changes coming to PI statistics

Developments for the survey year 2024 to 2025

PI statistics are based on data from the FRS. For the survey year 2024 to 2025 the base FRS developments which impact on PI statistics are:

  • transformative use of DWP administrative data
  • impact of integrating administrative data into the FRS and related outputs
  • postponement of population back-series until March 2027
  • postponement of revised grossing factors

Further detail on these base FRS developments can be found in the Developments for the survey year 2024 to 2025 section of the Family Resources Survey: release strategy.

The above link includes details on the timeline of the two stage change to the back-series years. Benefits administrative data will be revised, back to 2018 to 2019 (the earliest year for which we have sufficient linking to administrative records). Given the structural break, we will be changing the reference year for considering changes over time.

The two-stage changes to the reference year back to 2018 to 2019 will happen as follows: 

  • in March 2026, the reference year will be changed to 2021 to 2022, due to the methodology change
  • in summer 2026/stage two the reference year will be updated to 2018 to 2019

Developments for the survey year 2025 to 2026

PI statistics are based on data from the FRS. For the survey year 2025 to 2026 the base FRS developments which impact on PI statistics include plans to produce a back series of grossing factors.

PI statistics which include these developments are expected to be published in March 2027. Further detail on these base FRS developments can be found in the Developments for the survey year 2025 to 2026 section of the Family Resources Survey: release strategy - GOV.UK.

4. Other Developments

PI statistics are based on data from the FRS. Other developments planned to the base FRS data which impact on PI statistics include continued integration of administrative data into the FRS and related outputs.

Further detail on these base FRS developments can be found in the Other Developments section of the Family Resources Survey: release strategy - GOV.UK.

5. Feedback

We welcome feedback.

If you have any comments or questions, please email:pensioners-incomes@dwp.gov.uk

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