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Determining semi-normative poverty lines using social survey debate
- Author:
- DEEMING Christopher
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 43(3), June 2009, pp.270-289.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Debates about how to set minimum income standards for health and general well-being are very current in Britain. Family budget standards remain popular but the results can be criticized for being little more than abstractions. They are to an extent 'artificial' and this raises questions about their 'real adequacy'. Another way to operationalize adequacy of income, in a lived sense, is to consider the household income levels at which a specified, desirable, healthy standard of living is in fact achieved, indicated here by diet and nutrition. Data are taken from the United Kingdom's Expenditure and Food Survey; the sample has been restricted to an older population, and three years of data (2002–5) provided a combined sample of 4,300 households. The study findings and semi-normative poverty lines are critically discussed in relation to the national UK policy context as well as the international research literature on poverty measurement.
Disability costs and equivalence scales in the older population
- Authors:
- MORCIANO Marcello, HANCOCK Ruth, PUDNEY Stephen
- Publisher:
- Institute for Social and Economic Research
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 32p.
- Place of publication:
- Colchester
Disabled people face higher costs of living than do non-disabled people. These additional costs include the cost of adapting the home, overcoming the difficulties of getting about, and acquiring assistance with everyday tasks that non-disabled people can do unaided. This study estimated the implicit disability costs faced by older people, using data on over 8,000 individuals from the UK Family Resources Survey. It extended previous research by using a more flexible statistical modelling approach and by allowing for measurement error in observed disability and standard of living indicators. The study found that disability costs were strongly related to the severity of disability and to income, and at an average level of almost £100 per week among over-65s with significant disability they typically far exceed the value of any state disability benefits received.
Inequalities in old age: the impact of the recession on older people in Ireland, North and South
- Authors:
- PATSIOS Demi, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 13(1), 2012, pp.27-37.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This study investigated the consequences of the existing inequalities in older age in both Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI). Data was drawn from qualitative focus groups and analysis of existing data on social exclusion and poverty in NI and RoI. The analysis on publicly available data in the north and south of Ireland revealed few comparable measures on poverty and social exclusion. The study was, however, able to establish key pre- and intra-recession differences between older people in both areas. The qualitative analysis detailed the similarities and differences in the impact of the recession in north and south. In ending, the paper makes recommendations for improving data collection on measures which would allow policy makers and researchers to examine the current and future impact of the recession on the living standards and well-being of older people in Ireland.
Inequalities in old age: Ireland North and South 2011
- Author:
- CENTRE FOR AGEING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN IRELAND
- Publisher:
- Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 12p.
- Place of publication:
- Dublin
The recession has affected many groups across Ireland. It has increased the risk of poverty in both Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). A previous study showed that the number of single pensioners in NI at risk of poverty had risen in the preceding six years. In ROI, while the rate of pensioners at risk had fallen, the research showed that there was heavy dependence on the State pension for income, and benefit cuts were likely to affect pensioners heavily. This follow-on study examined the impact of the recession across Ireland on the older population. Key findings showed that 23% of pensioner couples and 39% of single pensioners in NI have no income on top of state benefits. 93% of people aged 65 and over in NI benefit from the state pension compared to 91% in ROI. 45% benefit from other pension income, compared to 32% in ROI. As the income data shows for both NI and ROI, the groups with the lowest income will suffer severe consequences with any cuts to state benefits. In the bottom fifth quintile in terms of income in NI, single pensioners earn just £93 per week and pensioner couples earn £169 per week. The bottom fifth quintile in ROI earns €209.41 on average. It is these groups whose health, quality of life and lives will deteriorate with further cuts to state benefits.
Ageing, income and living standards: evidence from the British Household Panel Survey
- Authors:
- BERTHOUD Richard, BLEKESAUNE Morten, HANCOCK Ruth
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 29(7), October 2009, pp.1105-1122.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
In Britain, older people have lower average incomes and a higher risk of income poverty than the general population. Older pensioners are more likely to be in poverty than younger ones. Yet certain indicators of their living standards suggest that older people experience less hardship than expected, given their incomes. A possible explanation is that older people convert income into basic living standards at a higher rate than younger people, implying that as people age they need less income to achieve a given standard of living. Much existing evidence has been based on cross-sectional data and therefore may not be a good guide to the consequences of ageing. Longitudinal data was used on people aged at least 50 years from the British Household Panel Survey to investigate the effects of ageing on the relationship between standard of living, as measured by various deprivation indices, and income. It was found that for most indices, ageing increases deprivation when controlling for income and other factors. The exception is a subjective index of ‘financial strain’, which appears to fall as people age. Evidence of cohort effects were also found. At any given age and income, more-recently-born older people in general experience more deprivation than those born longer ago. To some extent these ageing and cohort effects balance out, which suggests that pensions do not need to change with age.
Towards a citizen's pension: interim report
- Author:
- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PENSION FUNDS
- Publisher:
- National Association of Pension Funds
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 64p.
- Place of publication:
- London
A ‘Citizen’s Pension’, also known as a Universal Pension, is a basic amount payable to every individual over state pension age who passes a residency test. This report considers a Citizen’s Pension of at least £105 a week in 2004 terms, indexed to earnings, as this is the current minimum level of income a person over pension age would have through Pension Credit. The benefits of a Citizen’s Pension would be adequacy, simplicity, inclusion, encouragement to save, efficiency and certainty. Transition to a Citizen’s Pension would speed up the change occurring anyway to the state pension system, while improving it. With a Citizen’s Pension, the role of the state in poverty prevention is clarified, making decisions on any further state role (including enhancing voluntary or compulsory saving) clearer. No pension policy can satisfy all preferences, so a decision for a Citizen’s Pension would be made because it gives the best package overall for the long-term.There are perceived practical problems with a Citizen’s Pension, but this report suggests that some of these are misplaced, and that others can be resolved.
Households below a minimum income standard: 2008/09–2019/20
- Authors:
- PADLEY Matt, STONE Juliet
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2022
- Pagination:
- 39
- Place of publication:
- York
This is the ninth in a series of reports monitoring the total number of individuals in the UK living below the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) threshold, and explores in detail the family and household characteristics of people with incomes below MIS. The MIS is a benchmark of income adequacy based on what the public think people need for a minimum socially acceptable living standard in the UK. The report focuses on three groups – children, working-age adults and pensioners – looking at how they have got on between 2008/09 and 2019/20. The report reveals that in 2019/20, more than a quarter (27.7%) of all individuals in the UK were living in households with incomes below MIS, compared to 26.7% in 2008/09. The proportion of individuals below MIS has fallen in the latest year and is at its lowest since 2009/10. The proportion of individuals with incomes below 75% of MIS in 2019/20 remains slightly above the level reported in 2008/09 (17.1% compared with 16.6%). Individuals with incomes below this level – falling well short of being able to meet their minimum needs – face a greater risk of being materially deprived. One quarter (25.7%) of children are living in households with very low incomes (below 75% of MIS). Around two in five (43.3%) lone parents working full-time are below MIS, while more than three quarters (80%) working either part-time or self-employed are below this level. (Edited publisher abstract)
Living longer: implications of housing tenure in later life
- Author:
- OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS
- Publisher:
- Office for National Statistics
- Publication year:
- 2020
- Pagination:
- 12
- Place of publication:
- London
This article uses 2015 to 2017 data from the English Housing Survey to explore the implications of housing tenure in later life across four areas: finances; housing quality; health; and the accessibility and adaptability of the property. Main points include: among households in England containing someone aged 60 years or over, fewer than half in the private rental sector have savings or investments, compared with over three-quarters of those who own their homes outright; however, not all those who own outright are well-off and almost a quarter have no savings at all; after paying housing costs, older people in rented accommodation have lower incomes than homeowners and privately renting households are more likely to be in fuel poverty than homeowners; almost a third of privately rented properties and one in five properties owned outright and lived in by older people are classified as non-decent overall, as measured against the Decent Homes Standard; people aged 60 to 69 years living in the private rented sector are more likely to report bad general health than homeowners – differences in health above age 70 years are less pronounced as health is more likely to worsen for all at later ages; older people living in rented accommodation are far less likely to have moved home recently than younger people, suggesting that security of tenure becomes more important with age. (Edited publisher abstract)
Income transfers to the elderly in East Asia: testing Asian values
- Author:
- KWON Huck-ju
- Publisher:
- London School of Economics. Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion
- Publication year:
- 1999
- Pagination:
- 26p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Paper examining the role of family and the state in relation to the living standards of older people in East Asia. Aims to test whether familial arrangements according to Confucian ethics, which are still taken seriously in East Asia, secures the minimum standards of living for older people in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Argues that public policy in the region assumes the family is primarily responsible for older people's living standards.
Disability and poverty in later life
- Authors:
- HANCOCK Ruth, MORCIANO Marcello, PUDNEY Stephen
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 44
- Place of publication:
- London
This report explores the relationship between disability and poverty among the older population. It provides an overview of the current system of disability support for older people which involves both nationally-administered disability benefits of Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance, and local systems of social care provision. It then looks at measuring poverty, emphasising the additional living costs that disabled people face, and the importance of taking disability costs into account when making assessments. The report considers three scenarios for the system of public support within the existing level of government spending which involve changes to levels of mean-testing and reach of support. It casts doubt on some of the suggestions that have been made for improving the targeting of public support for older disabled people. The report concludes that: effective targeting does not necessarily require an extension of means-testing; the present benefit and social care system is reasonably well-targeted, but falls far short of full support for the most severely disabled; there is a case for tailoring the structure of disability benefits more closely to the severity of disability; and there is a need for caution in considering proposals that would scrap national disability benefits in favour of an expansion of local authority social care funding. (Edited publisher abstract)