Pensioner poverty over the next decade: what role for tax and benefit reform?

Brewer, Mike; Browne, James; Emmerson, Carl; Goodman, Alissa; Muriel, Alastair; Tetlow, Gemma

doi:10.1920/co.ifs.2007.0103

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This is due to a negative price effect (Table 4); the subgroup decomposition reveals that this is due to the increasing income of two relatively poor groups: pensioners and households with children under five. The relative incomes of pensioners have been increasing in recent years, partly due to successive cohorts of retiring pensioners having larger private pension incomes to draw upon on average, and partly due to the increasing generosity of state benefits targeted at low income pensioners (such as the Pension Credit) -see Brewer et al (2007) for more details. Meanwhile, the increasing relative income of households with children under five is likely to be the result of changes to the benefit system (in particular the rapid increase in generosity of welfare benefits and tax credits for low income families with children since 1997).…”

Section: To 2008-09mentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for Changes in Income Inequality: Decomposition Analyses for the UK, 1978–2008

Brewer

Wren‐Lewis

2015

Oxf Bull Econ Stat

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We analyse income inequality in the UK from 1978 to 2009 in order to understand why income inequality rose very rapidly from 1978 to 1991 but then remained broadly unchanged. We find that inequality in earnings among employees has risen fairly steadily since 1978, but other factors that caused income inequality to rise before 1991 have since gone into reverse. Inequality in investment and pension income has fallen since 1991, as has inequality between those with and without employment. Furthermore, certain household types -notably the elderly and those with young children -which had relatively low incomes in the period to 1991 have seen their incomes converge with others.

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Section: To 2008-09mentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for Changes in Income Inequality: Decomposition Analyses for the UK, 1978–2008

Brewer

Wren‐Lewis

2015

Oxf Bull Econ Stat

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“…6 The report also highlighted the relatively high rate of persistent poverty among single pensioner households and that pensioner households had relatively low exit rates from poverty compared with other groups. Brewer et al (2007) investigate the implications of the 2006 White Paper on pensioner poverty. Their main finding indicates that pensioner poverty is likely to remain relatively stable between 2007/8 and 2017/18, principally due to the fact that the UK government committed to indexing pension credit in line with earnings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In or out? Poverty dynamics among older individuals in the UK

Kanabar¹

2016

Journal of Pension Economics and Finance

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Using the largest household panel survey Understanding Society, this paper investigates lowincome dynamics among pensioner households in the UK controlling for biases due to initial conditions and non-random survey attrition. Estimation results indicate there is a correlation between initial and conditional poverty status, specifically, there is regression towards the mean. The results find no evidence of a correlation between initial poverty status, conditional poverty status and survey attrition. The findings show the importance of benefit income in determining poverty status, suggesting that a dichotomous measure such as poverty status may not suitably reflect actual pensioner living standards. Aside from benefit income, receipt of employer and occupational pension, health, education and subjective financial situation are important in determining initial and conditional poverty status. Stylised examples highlight the significant differences in the 'poverty experience' which arise due to differences individual and household characteristics.JEL CODES: D31, J26

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“…For an example of a report that does attempt to forecast pensioner poverty, see Brewer et al (2007). 4 The absolute poverty line is uprated in line with the Retail Prices Index (excluding council tax) and the Rossi index for beforehousing-costs and after-housing-costs incomes, respectively.…”

Section: Implications For Policymentioning

confidence: 99%