A survey found that 17 per cent of retired adults said that they were living on an annual income below 5,000, despite the government's minimum income guarantee promising a base line of 5,668.
Source: Press release 8 December 2005, Prudential Assurance Company (020 7270 4558)
Links: Prudential press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Dec
A report highlighted the crucial role of paid work for older carers, and in particular the need for an adequate income to make ends meet and help meet the costs of disability and loss of income. It called for more work to be done to ensure that carers were able to juggle work and care, and a reduction in the complexity of claiming carers' benefits, along with other measures to tackle financial hardship among older carers.
Source: Caring and Pensioner Poverty: A report on older carers, employment and benefits, Carers UK (020 7566 7626)
Links: Report | Help the Aged press release
Date: 2005-Dec
The government announced that, from April 2006, the basic state pension would go up in line with retail prices to 84.25 (from 82.05), and the level of pension credit guarantee element would increase in line with average earnings to 114.05 (from 109.45), from April 2006.
Source: Press release 6 December 2005, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7712 2171)
Links: DWP press release
Date: 2005-Dec
The government announced (in the Pre-Budget Report) that people over 65 would receive winter fuel payments of 200 every winter for the remainder of the Parliament, and those over 80 would get 300. An additional 300 million would also be allocated (over three years) to enable pensioners on pension credit to have central heating systems installed free of charge, and to provide a 300 discount on all central heating systems to all other pensioners who did not already have one in their homes.
Source: Britain Meeting the Global Challenge: Enterprise, fairness and responsibility - Pre-Budget Report, Cm 6701, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | HMT press release | Help the Aged press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Dec
Researchers brought together research on personal needs for healthy living in older age, and identified the minimum personal income required in England. They found that some people over 65 were not spending enough to enable them to stay fit and well.
Source: Press release 22 November 2005, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (020 7636 8636)
Links: LSHTM press release
Date: 2005-Nov
In the winter of 2004-05 (December-March) there were around 31,600 more deaths in England and Wales compared with the average number of deaths in the non-winter period (August- November 2004, April-July 2005), according to provisional estimates. This number was higher than levels seen in the previous four years.
Source: Press release 27 October 2005, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A report summarized a series of topic-based reports on the needs and circumstances of older people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Source: Eileen Evason, Katrina Lloyd, Paula Devine and Patricia McKee, Older People in Northern Ireland: Final report, Institute of Governance, Public Policy and Social Research/Queen s University Belfast (028 9097 2549)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary
Date: 2005-Aug
A research report explored issues surrounding access to the Pension Service among pensioners who were vulnerable on account of health problems or disabilities.
Source: Wendy Sykes, Alan Hedges, Kit Ward, Kate Melvin and Mathew Bose, Understanding the Service Needs of Vulnerable Pensioners: Disability, ill-health and access to the Pension Service, Research Report 263, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
Researchers explored the roles, views and experiences of those who had acted as representatives for pensioners in their dealings with the Pension Service.
Source: Helen Barnard and Karen Whiting, Representing Pensioners, Research Report 248, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
About 500,000 British pensioners living outside the United Kingdom lost a legal bid to have their state pensions increased in line with inflation.
Source: Regina v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Respondent) ex parte Carson (Appellant) and Regina v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Respondent) ex parte Reynolds (FC) (Appellant), UKHL 37 (Session 2005-06), House of Lords Judicial Office (020 7219 3111)
Links: Text of judgement
Date: 2005-May
A paper explained the methodology used for calculating pension wealth for all individuals in the first wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, focusing on individuals aged between 50 and the state pension age.
Source: James Banks, Carl Emmerson and Gemma Tetlow, Estimating Pension Wealth of ELSA Respondents, Working Paper 05/09, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
A report said that the state pension system in the United Kingdom was relatively cheap and redistributive: but also that it provided one of the lowest retirement incomes.
Source: Pensions at a Glance: Public policies across OECD countries (2005 edition), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (+33 1 4524 8200)
Links: Summary | OECD press release
Date: 2005-May
A report described the social-demographic characteristics of pensioner households in Northern Ireland, and their living standards.
Source: Fiona Scullion and Paddy Hillyard, Pensioner Households in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that the pension credit had increased the incomes of many pensioners. It made detailed recommendations to improve take-up and administration.
Source: Pension Credit, Third Report (Session 2004-05), HC 43, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Citizens Advice press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
A research report examined older people s attitudes to, and knowledge about, pension credit. Of those surveyed, 81 per cent of non-recipients had heard of pension credit; 78 per cent of people who received pension credit stated that they were better off since receiving it; among those not receiving pension credit, 48 per cent felt that they would be better off if they did receive it.
Source: Clare Talbot, Laura Adelman and Robert Lilly, Encouraging Take-up: Awareness of and attitudes to Pension Credit, Research Report 234, CDS (0113 399 4040) for Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release | Help the Aged press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
The government announced (in the Budget) the introduction of free off-peak local bus travel in England for all those over 60 from April 2006. There would be a one-off 200 council tax refund for 2005 for every pensioner household where at least one person was 65 or over. There would also be an immediate end to the reduction of the state pension after a 52-week stay in hospital.
Source: Investing for our Future: Fairness and opportunity for Britain s hard-working families, HC 372, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 16 March 2005, columns 257-269, TSO | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 17 March 2005, columns 419-492, TSO
Links: Report (pdf) | Report (pdf links) | Hansard(Budget speech) | Hansard (Budget debate) | HMT press release | Age Concern press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
Campaigners set out recommendations for action to eliminate pensioner poverty. There should be a citizen s pension , dependent on residency instead of national insurance contributions, set at the existing pension guarantee credit level of 109, and rising in line with earnings.
Source: Pensions, Not Pin Money: Ensuring a decent retirement for all, Help the Aged (020 7278 1114)
Links: Report (pdf) | Help the Aged press release
Date: 2005-Mar
Research found that 46 per cent of those over 50, and 49 per cent of those over 70, said they would rather spend than save. People aged over 50 owed more, relative to their income, than younger people.
Source: David Metz and Michael Underwood, Older, Richer, Fitter, Age Concern England (020 8765 7200)
Links: Age Concern press release
Date: 2005-Feb
The opposition Conservative party published its manifesto polices for older people. It said that it would give a 50 per cent discount, up to a maximum of 500 per year, on council tax bills (net of council tax benefit) for households in England in which all household members were aged 65 or over. It also promised to restore the link between the state pension and average earnings growth.
Source: Action for Older People, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | IFS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Feb
A paper used data from the British Household Panel Survey to examine the fall in spending at retirement. Comparing food spending for men retiring involuntarily early (through ill-health or redundancy) with spending for those who retired voluntarily, it found a significant fall in spending only for those who retired involuntarily. Evidence on psychological and financial well-being also indicated that the retirement experience of involuntary retirees was very different to that of voluntary retirees.
Source: Sarah Smith, Can the Retirement-Consumption Puzzle be Resolved?: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey, Discussion Paper 33, UBS Pensions Research Programme/London School of Economics (020 7955 6301)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jan
The government said that 4 out of 10 pensioners were not claiming the council tax benefit to which they were entitled. A total of 750 million pounds went unclaimed every year.
Source: Press release 10 January 2005, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7712 2171)
Links: DWP press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jan
