National statistics

Pensioners’ Incomes Series: financial year 2020 to 2021

Published 31 March 2022

Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on these statistics

Fieldwork operations for the financial year ending 2021 (FYE 2021) Family Resources Survey (FRS) were rapidly changed in response to coronavirus (COVID-19) and the introduction of national lockdown restrictions. The established face-to-face interviewing approach employed on the FRS was suspended and replaced with telephone interviewing for the whole of the FYE 2021 survey year. This change impacted on both the size and quality of the achieved sample. More information on fieldwork can be found in the FRS background and methodology.

While the data for FYE 2021 has undergone extensive quality assurance prior to publication, we recommend that users exercise additional caution when using the data for FYE 2021, particularly when making comparisons with previous years. This is especially recommended when interpreting larger changes observed in FYE 2021 and reported in this statistical release.

See the technical report published by the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) team explaining the coronavirus impacts in more detail which should be considered alongside interpretation of these statistics.

This report examines how much income pensioners get each week and where they get that income from. It looks at how their incomes have changed over time and variations in income between different types of pensioners.

The population age distribution has changed a lot since the start of this series in Financial Year Ending 1995 (FYE 1995) and pensioners now make up a larger proportion of the overall population.

Changes in the economy and to the benefit system mean that the amount and components of pensioners’ average weekly incomes have changed over time. These statistics look at these changes.

1. Main story

Pensioners’ incomes have increased.

Average weekly income of pensioners (AHC) in financial year ending 2021 prices (£)

The average income increased between the start of the series in FYE 1995, when it was £169, to £321 in FYE 2010. This increase is statistically significant. In the 10 years from FYE 2010 to FYE 2020, pensioners had similar average incomes with £321 and £333 respectively. In FYE 2021, pensioners had an average income of £361 after housing costs (AHC), which has increased from £333 in FYE 2020.

Younger pensioners had higher average incomes than older pensioners.

In FYE 2021, pensioners where the head was under 75 had average weekly incomes of £393. This was higher than those where the head was 75 or over, who had average weekly incomes of £328. This difference is statistically significant.

Fewer pensioners are receiving income-related benefits.

The percentage of pensioners in receipt of income-related benefits in FYE 2021 was 20%. This has been decreasing since the survey began in FYE 1995 when 37% of pensioners were in receipt of such benefits.

Thirty-one per cent of pensioners were in receipt in FYE 2010. The decrease between FYE 1995 and 2010, and the decrease between FYE 2010 to 2021 are both statistically significant.

2. What you need to know

The Pensioners’ Incomes (PI) Series contains estimates of the levels, sources, and distribution of pensioners’ incomes. It also examines the position of pensioners within the income distribution of the population as a whole. The statistics are used by government departments, local authorities, academics, journalists, and the voluntary sector. As of this release, there are 27 years of data in the time series.

In this report we measure income for pensioners. Pensioners consist of single pensioners and pensioner couples. A pensioner couple means at least one person in the couple is over State Pension age. Estimates do not reflect income from others in a household but do include income from working-age partners who are part of a pensioner couple. Therefore, if a pensioner lives with their adult children, the children’s income is not included in this analysis.

The head of a pensioner unit is the member of the household with the highest income if that person is part of the pensioner unit. Otherwise, the head is the first person named in the survey who is part of the pensioner unit. Pensioners that have ‘recently reached State Pension age’ have a head within 5 years of the State Pension age (SPa) at the time of the interview.

Income measures

Except where otherwise stated, we use the unequivalised income of pensioners, estimated both before and after housing costs (BHC and AHC). The data is presented unequivalised, as single pensioners and pensioner couples are compared separately in most results; this allows us to break down pensioners incomes by different sources in monetary terms. Income AHC is derived by subtracting rent, water rates and charges, structural insurance premiums, mortgage interest payments and ground rent, and service charges from income BHC. Unless otherwise stated for certain income breakdowns, we use median income as our measure of average income, as the mean is often biased upwards by extremely high values. We also use AHC figures unless otherwise stated, as this is a better reflection of pensioners’ disposable incomes.

All income estimates have been adjusted for inflation. PI uses variants of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to adjust for inflation, to look at how incomes change over time in real terms. For example, if average incomes rose by three per cent in cash terms but inflation was higher at five per cent, we would record a fall in average incomes as the real purchasing power of incomes would have fallen.

See a full breakdown of how we measure income in the ‘About these statistics’ section of this publication.

Survey data

PI estimates are based on a sample of around 4,000 pensioners in private households in the UK, taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS).

Estimates are based on the FRS, which in FYE 2020 conducted face-to-face interviews with over 19,000 UK households. However, due to the national lockdown and restrictions caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) from late-March 2020, interviewing in FYE 2021 was conducted solely by telephone. This resulted in a smaller achieved sample size of just over 10,000 households in FYE 2021. However, the PI sample size wasn’t affected as much and only dropped from 7,000 to 4,000. In addition, respondents were more likely to be older, owner-occupiers and better educated compared with previous years. Whilst the FRS and HBAI grossing regimes bring the age, tenure, and education profile in line with the UK population, there remains some unobservable residual bias that cannot be corrected by the grossing regime. See the technical report published by the HBAI team explaining the coronavirus impacts in more detail which should be considered alongside interpretation of these statistics.

Changes due to coronavirus COVID-19

In FYE 2021, several factors impacted on FRS response rates and the distribution of characteristics among FRS survey respondents, including:

  • change in the mode of interviewing from face to face to telephone
  • changes in the methods used to elicit responses from survey participants as the year progressed
  • changes in people’s behaviours and circumstances during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which may have made them more or less likely to respond to a household survey

While it is not possible to quantify the impact each of these factors had on the PI statistics, headline figures based on our extensive quality assurance of the sample and estimates are detailed below and more detail can be found in the technical report published by the HBAI team explaining the coronavirus impacts in more detail which should be considered alongside interpretation of these statistics.

The FRS is conducted across the full financial year, so the data in this report is broken down into financial years. The use of survey data means that the results in this report are subject to sampling variation. This affects how changes should be interpreted, especially over short time periods.

Statistical significance is a technical concept that says whether a reported change is likely to have arisen only by chance due to variations in the sampling. We calculate 95% confidence intervals around estimates in PI. This sets a standard that, where any change is reported as statistically significant, there is less than a one in 20 chance that the reported difference is due to sampling variation and there is no real underlying change. Statistically significant differences are clearly stated in the text. Other differences are not significant or have not been tested.

As shown in Table M1.2 of the background information and methodology, comparisons over a single year are rarely statistically significant. Users are advised to draw conclusions from long-term trends rather than year-on-year changes.

For the PI publication we use a method called ‘bootstrapping’ to generate representative resamples from the PI data and produce our confidence intervals. This year, we reviewed options for adjusting the bootstrapping method given the smaller sample sizes. Internal analysis confirmed that any proposed change had only a small impact on the width of the published confidence intervals, so we maintained our existing methodology. Further detail on the current approach can be found in the HBAI quality and methodology document.

Given the reduced sample size in FYE 2021, confidence intervals around the main estimates are wider than in previous years. The increase in variation does vary across the main estimates, but on average is around 70%. Therefore, the degree of change in the estimates needed to be larger before we can be confident it is statistically significant.

Data is for the UK from FYE 2003 onwards. Data from earlier years is for Great Britain only.

Additional tables and data

A comprehensive set of reference tables breaking down headline results presented in this report are available. These tables are referenced throughout this report and show results for various demographic characteristics across the 27 years of the time series. Further breakdowns of the PI data can be created on Stat-Xplore.

Any analysis of the changes in the estimates below UK level and across a range of breakdowns should be undertaken with additional caution as the combination of smaller sample sizes and additional bias means it may not be possible to make meaningful statistical assessments of trends and changes for these breakdowns.

The PI dataset is available to download via the UK Data Service.

Considerations when interpreting average pensioner incomes

PI finds that there are differences in average incomes between age groups as well as changes over time. There are several reasons for this which should be noted when interpreting these results:

  • the ‘age’ effect: Older pensioners are less likely to be in work and hence receive a smaller amount from earnings. Furthermore, they are less likely to have a partner who is in work. Any pension(s) they may be in receipt of are related to their earnings, years of scheme membership, and pension contributions (including national insurance in the case of the State Pension) they made previously in their working lives
  • the ‘cohort’ effect: The rapid rise in occupational pension coverage in the 1950s and 1960s will have been more beneficial to later cohorts. Therefore, each successive cohort of pensioners has, in general, had a higher income than the older cohort it effectively replaces, and this has pushed up the average income of the pensioner group as a whole. Changes to the State Pension system over time also contribute to this effect. This increase in coverage is becoming less relevant but increases in occupational pension income is still expected as later cohorts will contribute more due to higher earnings
  • the length of time since retirement: Pensions generally increase by less generous uprating measures after retirement. In addition, most annuities purchased with occupational or personal pensions are level annuities, which do not increase over time. Income in real terms is therefore decreasing for these annuities once inflation is considered
  • uprating: The State Pension and Pension Credit were uprated by 3.9% in April 2020 under the triple lock. This was higher than inflation of around 0.6% and so was an increase in real terms for those in receipt
  • changing State Pension age over time: From 6 April 2010, the State Pension age has been increasing gradually for women, and since December 2018 has been increasing for both men and women. The FRS data contained in this report was collected throughout FYE 2021, during which the State Pension age for both men and women had increased to 66 years by the end of the survey year. In this report, people are categorised as being above State Pension age based upon their reported birth date and the timetable for the legislated increases in State Pension age

Average pensioner incomes have increased since FYE 1995.

Average weekly income of pensioners (AHC) in financial year ending 2021 prices (£)

After the deduction of direct taxes, and housing costs, the average income of all pensioners in FYE 2021 was £361 per week.

There was a statistically significant increase in the average income of all pensioners from FYE 1995, when it was £169 per week, to FYE 2010, £321 per week. This change reflected growth in income from benefits, including the State Pension, as well as increased income from occupational pensions.

In FYE 2021, the average income for pensioner couples was £511 per week. This was more than twice that of single pensioners, who had an average income of £246 per week. This difference is statistically significant.

See Table 2.1 for full data.

Pensioner couples are less reliant on benefit income than single pensioners.

Percentage of gross mean income from difference sources, financial year ending 2021

Pensioners receive income from a range of different sources. Changes in the composition of pensioners’ incomes reflect underlying economic factors.

In FYE 2021, benefit income, which includes State Pension, was the largest component of total gross income for both pensioner couples and single pensioners. This was 56% for single pensioners, while for pensioner couples it was 37%.

Income from occupational pensions was 35% of total gross income for pensioner couples and 29% for single pensioners.

Income from earnings made up 6% of total income for single pensioners. For pensioner couples, 15% of total income was from earnings. Twenty-four per cent of pensioner couples contained one adult below State Pension Age. For some of these couples, the adult below State Pension age contributed to the earnings income.

Earnings income made up 35% of total income for pensioner couples where one partner was over State Pension age and one was under it. For couples where both partners were over State Pension age, this was only eight per cent.

See Tables 2.1, 5.1 and 5.3 for full data.

Older pensioners had lower incomes than younger pensioners on average.

Average weekly income of pensioners (AHC) in financial year ending 2021 prices (£)

In FYE 2021, pensioners where the head was under 75 had higher average incomes than those where the head was 75 or over. Their average incomes were £393 and £328 per week, respectively. This difference is statistically significant.

Pensioners where the head was within 5 years of the State Pension age (SPa), classified as ‘recently reached State Pension age’, had higher incomes than those who had not recently reached State Pension age. The average income for pensioners who recently reached SPa was £384, compared to £352 for those who did not reach SPa recently. Pensioners who recently reached SPa are also included in the ‘Under 75’ age group. These two groups have had comparable incomes in the last three years.

In FYE 2021, 60% of pensioners where the head was 75 or over were single pensioners. On average, single pensioners had lower incomes. The average income for single pensioners aged under 75 was £240 per week. This was less than the average income for single pensioners aged 75 or over, which was £253 per week. More information about single pensioners’ incomes can be found later in this section.

See Tables 1.2, 2.6, 2.7 and 2.12 for full data.

Older pensioners are more reliant on benefit income.

Percentage of gross mean income from different sources, financial year ending 2021

Benefit income, which includes State Pension, made up half (50%) of total gross income for pensioners where the head was aged 75 or over and 46% of total gross income for pensioners who have not recently reached SPa. Whereas, for pensioners who did recently reach SPa and pensioners where the head was under 75, benefit income made up 37% and 38% of gross income respectively.

The proportion of gross income that was made up of occupational pension income was very similar for all four groups of pensioners by age. Occupational pension income accounted for 32% of total gross income for pensioners over 75 and those who had not recently reached SPa, and 33% for pensioners under 75 and those who had recently reached SPa. While occupational pension income was higher for the younger age groups, these groups also had higher overall incomes, resulting in the percentage contribution of their occupational pension income being slightly smaller.

Earnings income accounted for 18% of total gross income for pensioners who recently reached SPa and 17% for pensioners where the head was under 75. For pensioners who haven’t retired recently, this was 10%, and where the head was aged 75 or over, it was five per cent. Because older pensioners are less likely to be in work, on average they receive a smaller amount from earnings.

Pensioners who had recently reached SPa and those that were under 75 had more investment income, with 10% and 9% of total gross income respectively. Pensioners over 75 and those who had not recently reached SPa received 7% of their total gross income from investments.

Incomes from personal pensions were similar percentages of total gross income for all groups.

See Tables 2.7 and 2.12 for full data.

Single men continue to have higher incomes than single women.

Average weekly income of pensioners (AHC) in financial year ending 2021 prices (£)

Single male pensioners had higher average incomes than single female pensioners in FYE 2021. Single men had an average weekly income of £260 and single women had an average income of £241.

See Table 2.8 for full data.

Sixty per cent of the total income for single female pensioners was benefit income.

Percentage of gross mean income from difference sources, financial year ending 2021

The difference in incomes between single male and single female pensioners reflects differences in the components that make up individuals’ total gross income.

In FYE 2021, benefit income, which includes State Pension, made up 60% of total gross income for single women. For single men, this value was 50%.

Thirty-one per cent of total gross income for single men came from occupational pensions. For single women, this was 27%.

Income from earnings made up seven per cent of total gross income for single men. For single women, this was 5%. Single female pensioners being older on average may be a contributing factor here, as they may be less likely to work.

See Table 2.8 for full data.

4. Regional Differences

Pensioner incomes differed between regions and countries.

When looking at regional incomes, we use the average weekly income (AHC) for each region over the three-year period FYE 2019 to 2021, adjusted to FYE 2021 prices.

Average weekly income (AHC) of pensioner couples by region or country, relative to the UK average, financial year ending 2019 to 2021.


In most regions in England, pensioner couples had average weekly incomes below the pensioner couples UK average.

The UK average weekly income over the period FYE 2019 to 2021 was £494 for pensioner couples.

On average, pensioner couple incomes were lowest in Yorkshire and the Humber, where incomes were 9% below the UK average. This difference is statistically significant.

Pensioner couples in the South East had the highest average income, 14% higher than the UK average. This difference is statistically significant.

Differences between regions are likely to be associated with demographic and economic variations, including housing costs.

See Table 2.4 for full data.

Average weekly income (AHC) of single pensioners by region or country, relative to the UK average, financial year ending 2019 to 2021.


In the period FYE 2019 to 2021, single pensioners in the UK had an average income of £233 per week.

The area with the highest average income for single pensioners was Wales, where incomes were 10% above the UK average, followed by 6% above the UK average for Scotland.

Single pensioners in London had the lowest average incomes. Their average income was 10% below the UK average.

Differences between regions are again likely to be associated with demographic and economic variations, including housing costs.

See Table 2.4 for full data.

5. Sources of pensioners’ incomes

Percentage of pensioners receiving income from income-related benefits decreased.

Percentage of pensioners receiving each source of income, financial years ending 1995, 2010 and 2021


Nearly all pensioners (97%) were in receipt of the State Pension in FYE 2021. This has increased from both FYE 1995 and FYE 2010, when 94% and 96% of all pensioners were in receipt of the State Pension respectively. The increase from FYE 1995 to 2021 is statistically significant.

Income-related benefits were received by 20% of all pensioners in FYE 2021 which is the lowest figure since the series began. The percentage of pensioners in receipt of income-related benefits decreased from 37% in FYE 1995, and 31% in FYE 2010. The decreases from FYE 1995 to 2010 and from FYE 2010 to 2021 are both statistically significant. This reflects the overall increase in pensioner income from the State Pension and private pensions over 27 years, because an increase in income reduces eligibility to income-related benefits.

Eighteen per cent of pensioners were in receipt of disability benefits in FYE 2021, compared to 14% in FYE 1995, though this figure was 23% in FYE 2010. The decrease from FYE 2010 to 2021 is statistically significant, though the overall increase from FYE 1995 to 2021 is also statistically significant.

Occupational pension income was received by 66% of pensioners in FYE 2021 – more than all previous years in the series. FYE 1995 and FYE 2010 saw 57% and 60% respectively. The overall increase between FYE 1995 and 2021 is statistically significant.

Personal pensions provided income to a smaller group of pensioners than occupational pensions. In FYE 2021, 17% of pensioners were in receipt of income from personal pensions, compared to 16% in FYE 2010 and four per cent in FYE 1995. The increase between FYE 1995 and 2021 is statistically significant. Personal pensions in their current form were introduced in 1988.

Private pension income was received by 74% of pensioners in FYE 2021 – more than all previous years in the series. FYE 1995 and FYE 2010 saw 59% and 69% respectively. The overall increase between FYE 1995 and 2021 is statistically significant, as was the increase between FYE 2010 and FYE 2021.

Investment income was received by 64% of all pensioners in FYE 2021. The percentage of pensioners in receipt of investment income has decreased from 70% in FYE 2010. This figure was 73% in FYE 1995. The decreases between FYE 1995 and 2021 and between FYE 2010 and FYE 2021 are both statistically significant.

Fourteen per cent of pensioners were in receipt of earnings in FYE 2021, compared to 11% in FYE 1995, though this figure was 19% in FYE 2010. The decrease between FYE 2010 and 2021 is statistically significant, as is the overall increase between FYE 1995 and 2021. For some pensioner couples, one adult below State Pension age contributed to the earnings income.

More information about the distribution of income components for those in receipt in FYE 2021 can be found below.

See Tables 3.4 to 3.11 for full data.

Distribution of income from selected income sources for all pensioners in receipt, FYE 2021 (£ per week)

State Pension

Almost all pensioners (97%) received income from State Pension, with an average amount of £192 per week. Peaks in the distribution may be explained by the basic State Pension rate, which was £134.25 per week in FYE 2021, as well as the new State Pension full rate, which was £175.20.

See Tables 3.4 and 6.1 for full data.

Twenty per cent of pensioners were in receipt of income-related benefits. While the percentage of pensioners in receipt of income-related benefits has been decreasing over time, the median income from this source for those in receipt has risen between FYE 1995 and 2010 and in FYE 2021 now stands at £91 per week.

See Tables 3.5 and 6.2 for full data.

Disability benefits

Eighteen per cent of pensioners received disability benefits. The average income for those in receipt was £89 per week. Some benefits have set rates, which may explain peaks in the distribution. For example, Attendance Allowance had a lower rate of £59.70 per week and a higher rate of £89.15 per week in FYE 2021.

See Tables 3.6 and 6.3 for full data.

Occupational pension income

Two-thirds of all pensioners (66%) received occupational pension income. The average amount for these pensioners was £198 per week. Eight per cent of those in receipt had occupational pension income of £750 or more per week.

See Tables 3.7 and 6.4 for full data.

Personal pension income

Seventeen per cent of pensioners had income from a personal pension, with an average of £54 per week for those in receipt. Thirty-one per cent of these pensioners had personal pension income of less than £30 per week.

See Tables 3.8 and 6.5 for full data.

Private pension income

Seventy-four per cent of pensioners received income from a private pension. The average amount for those in receipt was £187 per week. Eight per cent of those in receipt had private pension income of £750 or more per week.

See Tables 3.9 and 6.6 for full data.

Investment income

Sixty-four per cent of pensioners were in receipt of investment income, with an average income of £4 per week for those in receipt. Seven per cent of these pensioners had a weekly investment income of £250 or more per week.

See Tables 3.10 and 6.7 for full data.

Earnings income

Fourteen per cent of pensioners were in receipt of earnings, with an average income for those in receipt of £347 per week. Sixteen per cent of these pensioners had earnings income of £1,000 or more per week.

See Tables 3.11 and 6.8 for full data.

6. Distribution of pensioners’ incomes

This section looks at the distribution of pensioners’ incomes and where different groups of pensioners sit within it. To do this, pensioners’ incomes are ranked in order, and then the ranked pensioner population is divided into five equal groups of 20%. The top fifth had the highest incomes and the bottom fifth had the lowest. This is calculated separately for couples and single pensioners.

Pensioners’ position within the pensioner income distribution varied by age for couples.

The percentage of pensioners, by age of head, in each fifth of the pensioner couples net income (AHC) distribution, financial year ending 2021

In FYE 2021, 24% of pensioner couples where the head was 75 or over were in the bottom fifth of the pensioner couples’ income distribution. Of couples where the head was under 75, 18% of couples were in the bottom fifth. The top fifth of the income distribution contained 15% of pensioner couples where the head was 75 or over. Twenty-three per cent of pensioner couples with the head under 75 were in the top fifth. This difference is statistically significant.

Pensioners’ position within the pensioner income distribution was similar between age groups for singles.

The percentage of pensioners, by age of head, in each fifth of the pensioner singles net income (AHC) distribution, financial year ending 2021

Twenty per cent of single pensioners aged under 75, and those that were aged 75 and over, were in the bottom fifth of the pensioner singles income distribution. The top fifth of the income distribution contained 19% of single pensioners aged under 75 and 20% of single pensioners 75 or over.

See Table 4.2 for full data.

The sources of pensioners’ incomes differed across the income distribution.

Percentage of gross mean income from different sources for couples and singles in the top and bottom fifths of the pensioner couples or singles net income (AHC) distribution, FYE 2019 to 2021

Benefit income, including State Pension income, was the largest source of income for both single pensioners and couples in the bottom fifth of the income distribution over the three-year period FYE 2019 to 2021. For pensioner couples in the bottom fifth, benefit income accounted for 79% of income, while for single pensioners this was 86%.

For the top fifth of both couples and singles, the largest source of income was occupational pension income (39% for couples and 43% for singles). For both couples and singles, the top fifth of the income distribution received a larger percentage of their income from earnings than any other quintile (24% for couples and 12% for singles).

See Table 4.4 for full data.

7. Pensioners’ incomes within the overall income distribution

When looking at the position of individuals in pensioner units within the income distribution of the overall population, we use equivalised income. This means that incomes are adjusted to take account of the size and composition of households. This is the approach used in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) report, which analyses the overall household income distribution.

The percentage of pensioners in the top fifth of the overall population income distribution has increased.

The percentage of pensioners in each fifth of the overall population income distribution (AHC), using equivalised income, FYE 1995, FYE 2010 and FYE 2021

Fewer pensioners were in the bottom fifth of the overall income distribution in FYE 2021 compared to FYE 1995, and more were in the top fifth. The percentage of pensioners in the bottom fifth was 19% in FYE 1995. In FYE 2021, 14% of pensioners were in the bottom fifth. This difference is statistically significant.

Nineteen per cent of single pensioners and 12% of pensioner couples were in the bottom fifth in FYE 2021. This difference is statistically significant.

In FYE 1995, 13% of pensioners were in the top fifth of the overall income distribution. This increased to 20% in FYE 2021. This difference is statistically significant.

More than a fifth of pensioner couples (23%) were in the top fifth in FYE 2021, compared to 14% of single pensioners. This difference is statistically significant.

See Table 4.6 for full data.

The percentage of pensioners in the top half of the overall population income distribution increased since FYE 1995.

Percentage of pensioners in the top half of the overall population income distribution (AHC), using equivalised income, FYE 1995 to FYE 2021

In FYE 2021, 52% of pensioners were in the top half of the overall income distribution. In FYE 1995, this percentage was 38%. This difference is statistically significant. A period of sustained increases was observed from FYE 2003 to FYE 2013, where pensioners in the top half of the overall income distribution rose from 38% to 52%.

The percentage of pensioner couples in the top half of the income distribution was 44% in FYE 1995. In FYE 2021, this was 56%. This difference is statistically significant.

Forty-five per cent of single pensioners in FYE 2021 were in the top half of the income distribution. In FYE 1995, this was 29%. This difference is statistically significant.

It should be noted that due to COVID-19 there was a smaller achieved sample size in FYE 2021. In addition, respondents were more likely to be older, owner-occupiers and better educated compared with previous years. Whilst the FRS and HBAI grossing regimes bring the age, tenure, and education profile in line with the UK population, there remains some unobservable residual bias that cannot be corrected by the grossing regime.

See Table 4.7 for full data.

8. About these statistics

National Statistics Status

National Statistics status means that our statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value, and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.

The statistics underwent a full assessment against the Code of Practice for Statistics in 2011 and were confirmed as National Statistics in November 2012 by the Office for Statistics Regulation.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made several improvements since the previous publication including:

  • move to HTML: Accessibility (V2 of the Code of Practice) and Innovation and Improvement (V4 of the Code of Practice). We have continued to develop to be easily accessible to all users

  • additional variables on Stat-Xplore: Relevance to Users (V1 of the Code of Practice), reviewed and expanded the data available. Specifically, we have added variables for ethnicity and region or country

It is the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of National Statistics.

If DWP becomes concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Office for Statistics Regulation. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

Read further information about National Statistics on the UK Statistics Authority website.

DWP considers that all Pensioners’ Incomes statistics in this publication are “Fully Comparable at level A*” of the UK Countries Comparability Scale across countries.

How do we measure income?

The main income measure used in PI is weekly net disposable unequivalised income, calculated for both Before Housing Costs (BHC) and After Housing Costs (AHC). Estimates should therefore only be regarded as broadly indicative of pensioners’ overall living standards. BHC income comprises total income from all sources for all members of the pensioner unit.

Income is net of:

  • income tax payments and National Insurance contributions

  • domestic rates or council tax

  • contributions to pension schemes

  • all maintenance payments

  • student loan repayments

  • parental contributions to students living away from home

Income After Housing Costs (AHC) is derived by deducting a measure of housing costs from the overall income measure.

Housing costs include:

  • rent (gross of housing benefit)

  • water rates, community water charges and council water charges

  • mortgage interest payments

  • structural insurance premiums

  • ground rent and service charges

When looking at individual income components, figures are calculated from gross income.

Where to find out more

Further outputs and reference tables from PI analysis, alongside our PI Background information and methodology, which gives additional detail on how we estimate the measures reported here, are available on the Pensioners’ Incomes web page for this release.

Analysis of PI Series data from previous years, as well as further guidance and information about the statistics, is also available on the Pensioners’ Incomes web page.

Details of other National and Official Statistics produced by DWP can be found on the DWP website:

Information on alternative sources of data on income and earnings are available on the ONS website, including a new income and earnings interactive tool where you can filter by government department and country of interest to find relevant statistics

Further information about the statistics produced on income and earnings by government departments can also be found on the ONS website.

9. Contacts

Feedback on the content, relevance, accessibility and timeliness of these statistics and any non-media enquiries should be directed to:

Lead Statistician: Joanne Burrage

Email: pensioners-incomes@dwp.gov.uk

For media enquiries on these statistics, please contact the DWP press office.

ISBN: 978-1-78659-409-9