Poverty

Relative pensioner poverty rates in the UK stand at nearly 18%.

Pensioner poverty in the UK

Of all UK pensioners in poverty, more than half 55% are in deep poverty and almost three in ten 29% are in very deep poverty.
Some groups face a higher-than-average risk of poverty, above 16%.

Even at its maximum, the UK State Pension brings a single pensioner to only 80% of the Minimum Income Standard MIS.
This gap widens because many pensioners do not claim the support they are entitled to.

800,000 pensioner households in Great Britain are entitled to Pension Credit but do not receive it. This is 37% of those eligible.
310,000 pensioner households miss help with rent through Housing Benefit. This is 21% of those eligible.
5 million pensioners living with a disabled person do not receive disability benefits.
In one year, £2.8 billion of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit goes unclaimed by older people.

Groups at higher risk of pensioner poverty

Tenants

35% of private tenants and 34% of social rented sector tenants live in poverty.

Pensioners from minority ethnic groups

25% of Asian or Asian British pensioners and 26% of Black or Black British pensioners live in poverty.

Older pensioners

21% of those aged 85 and over live in poverty.

Single pensioners

23% of single women pensioners live in poverty, as do 20% of single men.

These figures may underestimate the scale of pensioner poverty in Luton due to the borough’s ethnic diversity and its relative performance compared with other local authorities.

Income deprivation affecting older people is the only sub-component that is both below Luton’s average performance and getting worse. 86% of local authorities in England perform better than Luton.

Our Enhancing Lives team can assess your situation, provide advice and support you in applying for benefits. Where needed, we can also signpost you to other services that may help. So far, we have successfully applied for over £2,000,000 of benefits for older people in Luton.