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, according to a comprehensive review of national data.
The Centre for Ageing Better’s annual State of Ageing report, published on Thursday, says 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%.
In a YouGov poll commissioned by the charity, more than 80% of respondents said the government was failing to ensure a decent life for older people. More than two-thirds of 2,000 adults in England surveyed supported the appointment of an independent commissioner to look after the rights of older people.
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, the report says.
With the population ageing rapidly, the number of people at risk is growing at an alarming rate, the report says. 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.
Dr Carole Easton, the chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “Ageing is not exclusive to older people. We are all ageing, all the time. We all have that in common. But what is not shared is how we’ll age, and where we’ll end up in our older age.”
While a financially secure and healthy later life is becoming increasingly unlikely for millions of people across England, experts are concerned those who have not yet reached pension age will face even greater financial challenges in retirement.
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.”
Peter Matejic, the deputy director of evidence and impact at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said pensioner poverty was a “political choice” made by the government despite its stated ambition to reduce inequalities and increase healthy life expectancy by five years.
“The fact that as a nation we have managed to successfully tackle pensioner poverty before shows that failing to do so now is a matter of political choice,” he said. “The chancellor should be taking decisive action in his spring statement next week to protect those most exposed to the coming increases in the cost of essentials, while also protecting pensioner incomes for the long term.”
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.
The report lays bare the impact the pandemic has had on reversing progress on older worker employment. 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 report says that after decades of narrowing, 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.
“These trends are entirely at odds with the government’s ambitions to extend working lives, raise the state pension age, boost productivity and level up the UK,” Easton said. “But they reflect the reality for many individuals who feel shut out, undervalued and financially disadvantaged by an ageist labour market.”
