Pensioner income
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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toPensioners' income sources by ethnicity section
- 3. Navigate toTotal income by ethnicity and source of income section
- 4. Navigate toTotal income by ethnicity over time section
- 5. Navigate toState Pension income by ethnicity over time section
- 6. Navigate toIncome from occupational pensions by ethnicity over time section
- 7. Navigate to Methodology section
- 8. Navigate to Data sources section
- 9. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- in the period from 2015/16 to 2017/18, pensioner families received an average of £533 a week in total income before deductions – in this data, a ‘pensioner family’ is a single pensioner or a married or cohabiting pensioner couple
- pensioner families from the Other ethnic group had the highest average income, followed by White British pensioner families
- Black pensioner families had the lowest average income
- White British pensioner families were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to receive income from investments, occupational pensions and personal pensions, and the least likely to receive income from income-related benefits
- Black pensioner families received the lowest income from occupational pensions in the period studied
Things you need to know
Because the data varies from year to year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes 3 years’ worth of data and works out the average for that period. For example, the published data for the period from 2015/16 to 2017/18 is an average of the data for the three years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18. DWP works out a new 3-year average every year.
While this increases the reliability of the data, it means that some statistical tests have not been carried out. The commentary on this page is for differences between ethnic groups that are reasonably reliable.
These statistics are estimates based on a sample of around 7,000 pensioner families per year. They may not reflect the whole population and you should use caution when interpreting them.
The data does not take into account any differences in household size and composition. For this reason, you should not compare it with data that does take these factors into account.
The Family Resources Survey under-reports the number of benefit recipients, compared with DWP administrative data. For this reason, the percentages given here may be lower than the actual percentage of claimants in the population.
Some pensioner families contain people from different ethnic backgrounds. The ethnicity assigned to the pensioner family is that of the head of the pensioner family (usually the person with the highest income).
Percentages are given to the nearest whole percentage point, and income is rounded to the nearest pound. Due to this rounding, some figures may not add up.
What the data measures
The data measures the sources and amounts of gross income for pensioner families in the UK. Gross income is the amount of income from all sources before taxes and other deductions. All income estimates are adjusted for inflation and are in 2017/18 prices.
A pensioner family can be either:
- a single person over State Pension age living alone
- a couple (married or living together) where at least one person is over State Pension age
The data does not include income from others in a household. For example, if a pensioner lives with their adult non-dependent children, or any non-related adults or children, the others’ income is not included.
Income-related benefits are means-tested and dependent on level of income and savings. They include Housing Benefit, Pension Credit, Universal Credit and Council Tax Reduction. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administers most benefits. Local authorities administer Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.
The ethnic categories used in this data
For this data, the number of people surveyed was too small to make reliable generalisations about specific ethnic groups.
Therefore, the data is broken down into the following 6 broad categories:
- Asian
- Black
- Mixed
- White British
- White Other (White ethnic minorities)
- Other ethnic groups
2. Pensioners' income sources by ethnicity
| Measure_type | All | White British | White Other | Black | Asian | Mixed | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Receiving income from State Pension | 97 | 98 | 87 | 94 | 85 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving income from benefits (including State Pension) | 100 | 100 | 99 | 99 | 99 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving income from disability benefits | 20 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 19 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving income from earnings | 17 | 16 | 22 | 21 | 15 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving income from income-related benefits | 24 | 24 | 31 | 40 | 36 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving investment income | 62 | 63 | 53 | 28 | 32 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving occupational pension income | 61 | 62 | 42 | 42 | 31 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving other income | 47 | 47 | 42 | 48 | 41 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Receiving personal pension income | 18 | 18 | 13 | 8 | 9 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Download table data for ‘Pensioners' income sources by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Pensioners' income sources by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Pensioner income Pensioners' income sources by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- 97% of pensioner families received income from the State Pension, making it the most common income source
- other common sources were investments (received by 62% of pensioner families) and occupational pensions (61%)
- the least common income sources were earnings (received by 17% of pensioner families), personal pensions (18%) and disability benefits (20%)
- Black pensioner families were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to get income-related benefits (with 40% doing so)
- White British pensioner families were the least likely to get income-related benefits (with 24% doing so)
- White British pensioner families were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to receive income from investments, occupational pensions and personal pensions (with 63%, 62% and 18% doing so respectively)
- Asian pensioner families were the least likely out of all ethnic groups to get income from an occupational pension (with 31% doing so)
- Black pensioner families were least likely to get income from a personal pension (with 8% doing so) and investments (28%)
3. Total income by ethnicity and source of income
| Measure Type | All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White British | White other | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Gross income | 533 | 387 | 371 | 485 | 541 | 478 | 578 |
| Benefit income | 228 | 198 | 208 | 214 | 230 | 205 | 211 |
| Benefit Income of which State Pension | 182 | 131 | 136 | 156 | 185 | 145 | 140 |
| Benefit Income of which Income-related benefits | 22 | 39 | 50 | 38 | 20 | 36 | 45 |
| Benefit Income of which Disability benefits | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| Occupational pension income | 154 | 69 | 62 | 81 | 160 | 97 | 131 |
| Personal pension income | 20 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 16 | 6 |
| Investment income | 40 | 25 | 3 | 15 | 41 | 32 | 70 |
| Earnings income | 86 | 80 | 88 | 158 | 85 | 123 | 158 |
| Other income | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Download table data for ‘Total income by ethnicity and source of income’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Total income by ethnicity and source of income’ (CSV)
Summary of Pensioner income Total income by ethnicity and source of income Summary
This data shows that:
- pensioner families received an average of £533 a week in total income before deductions
- pensioner families from the Other ethnic group had the highest total weekly average income (£578), followed by White British pensioner families (£541)
- Black pensioner families had the lowest weekly average income (£371)
- weekly average income from the State Pension was highest for White British pensioner families (£185) and lowest for Asian pensioner families (£131)
- out of all ethnic groups, White British pensioner families had the highest weekly average income from occupational pensions (£160) and personal pensions (£21)
- pensioner families in the White British, Asian, and Other ethnic groups received the highest weekly average income from disability benefits (£17 in each group)
- pensioner families from the Other ethnic group had the highest weekly average income from investments (£70)
- Black pensioner families received the highest weekly average income from income-related benefits (£50)
4. Total income by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2008/09 to 2010/11 | 2009/10 to 2011/12 | 2010/11 to 2012/13 | 2011/12 to 2013/14 | 2012/13 to 2014/15 | 2013/14 to 2015/16 | 2014/15 to 2016/17 | 2015/16 to 2017/18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| All | 510 | 516 | 511 | 509 | 519 | 525 | 534 | 533 |
| Asian | 429 | 445 | 447 | 465 | 435 | 410 | 408 | 387 |
| Black | 403 | 403 | 377 | 369 | 382 | 384 | 387 | 371 |
| Mixed | 448 | 517 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 455 | 493 | 509 | 485 |
| White British | 513 | 519 | 515 | 513 | 523 | 532 | 540 | 541 |
| White other | 502 | 507 | 488 | 479 | 474 | 477 | 486 | 478 |
| Other | 491 | 496 | 547 | 554 | 628 | 591 | 628 | 578 |
Download table data for ‘Total income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Total income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Pensioner income Total income by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- the average total weekly income for all pensioner families increased from £510 to £533 over the period studied
- however, the average total weekly income decreased in the same period for Black pensioner families (from £403 to £371), Other White pensioner families (from £502 to £478), and Asian pensioner families (from £429 to £387)
- there were increases in average total weekly income for White British pensioner families (from £513 to £541), Mixed pensioner families (from £448 to £485), and pensioner families in the Other ethnic group (from £491 to £578)
5. State Pension income by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2008/09 to 2010/11 | 2009/10 to 2011/12 | 2010/11 to 2012/13 | 2011/12 to 2013/14 | 2012/13 to 2014/15 | 2013/14 to 2015/16 | 2014/15 to 2016/17 | 2015/16 to 2017/18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| All | 162 | 166 | 168 | 170 | 173 | 176 | 180 | 182 |
| Asian | 135 | 132 | 124 | 124 | 127 | 131 | 132 | 131 |
| Black | 129 | 137 | 133 | 132 | 130 | 135 | 132 | 136 |
| Mixed | 133 | 138 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 152 | 150 | 146 | 156 |
| White British | 164 | 168 | 170 | 173 | 176 | 179 | 183 | 185 |
| White other | 150 | 145 | 143 | 143 | 150 | 147 | 145 | 145 |
| Other | 143 | 146 | 132 | 130 | 133 | 148 | 140 | 140 |
Download table data for ‘State Pension income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘State Pension income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Pensioner income State Pension income by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, the average weekly income from the State Pension for all pensioner families increased from £162 to £182 in the period studied
- however, the average weekly income from the State Pension decreased in the same period for Asian pensioner families (from £135 to £131), White Other pensioner families (from £150 to £145), and pensioner families from the Other ethnic group (from £143 to £140)
- there were increases in the average weekly income from the State Pension for White British pensioner families (from £164 to £185), Black pensioner families (from £129 to £136) and pensioner families in the Mixed ethnic group category (from £133 to £156)
6. Income from occupational pensions by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2008/09 to 2010/11 | 2009/10 to 2011/12 | 2010/11 to 2012/13 | 2011/12 to 2013/14 | 2012/13 to 2014/15 | 2013/14 to 2015/16 | 2014/15 to 2016/17 | 2015/16 to 2017/18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| All | 127 | 134 | 136 | 141 | 145 | 150 | 155 | 154 |
| Asian | 76 | 72 | 78 | 92 | 89 | 81 | 73 | 69 |
| Black | 71 | 70 | 65 | 67 | 76 | 76 | 69 | 62 |
| Mixed | 113 | 148 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 146 | 116 | 93 | 81 |
| White British | 129 | 136 | 139 | 144 | 149 | 154 | 160 | 160 |
| White other | 116 | 121 | 110 | 100 | 103 | 106 | 104 | 97 |
| Other | 116 | 128 | 135 | 148 | 151 | 141 | 125 | 131 |
Download table data for ‘Income from occupational pensions by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Income from occupational pensions by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Pensioner income Income from occupational pensions by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, the average weekly income from occupational pensions for all pensioner families increased from £127 to £154 in the period studied
- however, the average weekly income from occupational pensions decreased in the same period for Black pensioner families (from £71 to £62), Asian pensioner families (from £76 to £69), White Other pensioner families (from £116 to £97), and pensioner families in the Mixed ethnic group category (from £113 to £81)
- there were increases in the average weekly income from occupational pensions for White British pensioner families (from £129 to £160) and pensioner families in the Other ethnic group category (from £116 to £131)
7. Methodology
The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is a continuous household survey which collects information on a representative sample of private households in the UK. Detailed information is recorded on respondents’ income from all sources:
- housing tenure
- caring needs and responsibilities
- disability
- expenditure on housing
- education
- pension scheme participation
- childcare
- family circumstances
- child maintenance
The survey is conducted in respondents’ homes.
In the latest three-year period, 2015/16 to 2017/18, the FRS sample consisted of almost 60,000 households in the UK.
It has a financial-year survey period with surveys conducted throughout the year and is cross-sectional (a ‘snapshot’ of households over the year). Individuals are not followed up for later surveys. Since responses reflect only a sample of the total population, they are weighted on the basis of subnational population totals by age and sex to give estimates for the entire UK household population.
Estimates are subject to sampling error and non-sampling bias. The FRS only covers private households. Therefore, individuals who live in communal accommodation (for example, care homes) or have no fixed address (for example, who are homeless) are not included in these results.
The data has not been recalculated to take into account any differences in household size and composition (known as ‘equivalisation’). Equivalisation adjusts incomes for household size and composition, taking an adult couple with no children as the reference point. For example, the process of equivalisation would adjust the income of a single person upwards, so their income can be compared directly to the standard of living for a couple.
In the pensioners’ incomes series, income is usually shown for single pensioners and pensioner couples separately. The benefit income of dependent children is included in estimates, but this was only relevant for 1% of pensioner families.
This measure does not include any commentary on living standards or net income. You can find data on income before and after housing costs have been deducted in the data tables in the Pensioners’ income series for 2017 to 2018.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Any percentages based on fewer than 100 responses have been suppressed. Any average income amounts based on fewer than 50 responses have been suppressed.
Rounding
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point and value figures are rounded to the nearest £1. Due to this rounding, some figures may not add up.
Related publications
Households Below Average Income
Quality and methodology information
8. Data sources
Source
Pensioners’ incomes series: financial year 2017/18
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Work and Pensions
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Pensioners’ incomes series is based on data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The main purpose of the FRS is to give the Department for Work and Pensions data to develop, monitor and evaluate social welfare policy.
The survey is also used by other government departments, including for tax and benefit policy modelling by HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs. The FRS is also used extensively by academics and research institutes for social and economic research.
9. Download the data
This file contains data for the period 2008/09 to 2017/18. This is the data used in the charts, tables and commentary shown on this page. The file contains: Measure, Time, Time_type, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Measure_type, Value, Value_type, Note