Pensioner poverty

Sorry that should have read 1 million +. A quick check says nearer to 1.9 million.
Does this mean everyone who claims Pension Credit or is it assumed that receipt of PC lifts one out of poverty?

no idea where to find info ,I do have a friend of 50 years who had to give up her job early as she was fighting cancer ,she hasn't reached her second year cancer free yet.Now her benefits have been slashed to under £100 a week and her pension wont be paid until the end of the year .She's frantic with worry ,wont be able to get a job at her age locally and cant see anyway forward .

I've already quoted on another thread that we're the lowest paid pensioners in any developed country. This is before any added benefits. Just to rub salt into the wound, people have to now work for longer !

mcem this is a little old now, but I think it's what you're after:

www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/reports-and-briefings/money-matters/rb_apr18_poverty_in_later_life

Further of clarification on what John McDonnell said -

Mr McDonnell told the BBC that there were 1.7 million pensioners living in poverty and a million living in fuel poverty.

People count as living in relative poverty if they are in households with an income below 60% of the median household income. The median income is the one for which half of households have higher incomes and half have lower.

The government's preferred measure of pensioner poverty is after housing costs have been taken into account. Nearly three-quarters of pensioners live in homes that are owned outright (compared with roughly one in five of the working-age population) and so are less likely to have high housing costs.

On that measure, 16% of UK pensioners are in poverty, which is 1.9 million people.

There are also measures of absolute poverty, which may measure whether people are able to afford a basic lifestyle - about 8% of pensioners fall below the threshold for material deprivation.

To measure fuel poverty, the government looks at two things - how much you have to pay for fuel, and what your income is. You'll be considered to be in fuel poverty if your required fuel costs are above average and, were you to spend that amount, your remaining income would leave you below the official poverty line as explained above.

January 2018 report on median income in UK

Based on the Office for National Statistics's (ONS's) Living Costs and Food Survey, the UK median disposable household income was £27,300 in the financial year ending (FYE) 2017, up 2.3% on the previous year (after accounting for inflation and household composition).
So, £16.380

Thank you for that information which makes interesting reading. My own perceptions weren't far wrong.
I find that my income is only marginally above that 60% and in no way do I see my lifestyle as remotely poverty-stricken.

My op was prompted by two things.

Curiosity about J McDonell's statement which turns out to be fairly accurate.

A comment on another thread that raising pension rates would be the poster's highest priority in choosing an MP at a general election. My reply to that was that it certainly would not be my first concern.

Am I alone in thinking that there should be more focus on the poorest (ie increase in Pension Credit) while many of us are actually not desperately in need of increases?

I appreciate the fact that my state and teaching pensions have been modestly increased over the last few years while many in work have suffered significantly because of austerity.

A lot like my friend are WASPIE women who had plans to retire then had pensions postponed so they had to either keep working or live on a much lower income .Sadly my friend couldn't work,now they expect her to get a job when she's still struggling with health problems including early stage dementia and an expected pension date of November .

My DH is 67 and I am 57 . Neither of us have private pensions and we had intended to retire together when he was 70 and me 60 . I now can’t retire until I’m 67+ and I really can’t see him being able to keep going until he is 77-78 ! It’s rubbish .

So if there's any spare cash shouldn't it be concentrated where it's most needed, like alleviating the position of WASPIE women, instead of a general increase?
I noticed that Hammond summarily dismissed the WASPIE case when it was raised today in HoC.

I have often said that I would monetise all the bells and whistles that go with the pension, tv licences, prescriptions, travel passes. 50p a week at 80, winter fuel allowances and then add the amount that works out the average amount extra paid per pensioner to the Pension credit, and a bit more and those better off, like me could adjust our budgets to deal with it.

Interesting looking at the figure for 60% of median income - the figure I printed is over a year out of date, however, the Pension Credit rate (which increases for people who do not get full state pension the money bringing their income up to State pension amount) as from 1st April 2019 is for single person £9178.80 pa and for a couple £13,717.60 pa. Being on Pension Credit does open the door, often, to 100% assistance with Council Tax. However, looking at these figures (and these are also for those just on basic State Pension), it does mean that virtually all Pensioners who are not in receipt of any additional pension is well below the median, and therefore in poverty!!!!

Yes Monica and when necessary, even pay income tax!

I already pay income tax and so does DH. Pensioners are on the same tax regime as everybody else.

Well aware of income tax - I pay too!
By increasing the basic rate as you suggest there might be less of the mindset that says no pensioner should pay tax.

I can see absolutely no reason why pensioners should not pay taxes, we consume services.

Getting rid of the bells and whistles would enable the closing down of all the departments dealing with them, concentrate what money there is on helping the poorest pensioners and better off among us can just be treated, tax wise and concession wise, the same way as those who have yet to reach pension age.

Come to Australia where you don't get a pension if your assets are over a certain amount - $570,000. Even if youve been a taxpayer for decades
Downsize and immediately you have assets. No pension means no benefits like reduced rates, transport, electricity. Not fair.

A silly ,minor point but the increase on reaching 80 is 25p a week , not 50p.
I now understand that widow's pension is abolished, so anyone not qualifying for a pension in their own right, i.e. getting £300 a month on their husband's contribution does not now qualify for a full pension on his death.
Does anyone know if this is correct?

As a person who receives a state pension, my own private pension and a portion of my exes pension, I can honestly say that I could manage to live very well on just the state pension.
As it is, I save 90% of the rest and could save more.
It's a myth about the state pension being insufficient.

This white elephant “median figure” does not take into account the massive differences between those who “have” plenty and those who have very little. Okay so it’s the average, which is great if you are sitting there in the middle and even better if you are lucky enough to be above average but what about those who are drowning way down in the depths ?

Franbern
The figure for a single person claiming pension credit rises to £8,697 in April 2019, not the inflated figure you write about.
I've Googled the page and it rises from £163pw to £167.25pw. Times that by 52 weeks and you get £8,697.

*gillybob, the median is not the average. The average is all the salaries and wages added up and divided by the number of people in the sample.

The median is when you divide the number of people in the sample by 2 and the salary of that central person is the median. The value of the salaries does not enter into it, just what the person in the exact middle of the dsitribution earns.

My basic bills are £14 gas (domestic rate) £17-22 electric (business rate) £12 water, £10.70 BB+phone (including £75 cashback) all DD per month and £99 contents insurance paid yearly A total of £58.70 pm excl insurance.
That is 2.5× less than the weekly basic state pension.

my goodnessGabriella you should be giving budget advice to folk if you can live well on £8k a year .My friend pays rent of£400 a month ,council tax and utility bills and there wont be much left after those are paid if anything .She certainly wont be living the high life on her meagre pension that she worked for for nearly 50 years .