A Fifth Of British Pensioners Over 75 Are Living In Poverty

Twenty percent of pensioners over the age of 75 are living below the poverty line, according to a new report published by a charity group for the elderly. Research by Independent Age found that nearly a million older pensioners who lived through the Second World War were much more likely to live in persistent poverty than younger ‘baby boomer’ pensioners. The report suggests the income of those aged over 75 is, on average, £3,000 a year less than younger pensioners. RT reports: The report revealed some 950,000 older pensioners are living in poverty. On average, the weekly income of over-75s is £59 less than that of younger pensioners, and £112 less than working age adults.   “The reason pensioners don’t claim pension credit is because they don’t know it exists.” @blimeysimon on #pensionerpoverty #talkradio — Independent Age (@IndependentAge) May 16, 2016 “These findings show how misleading it is to treat all 11.8 million pensioners in this country as one group. It would be foolish to assume that inequality simply ceases to exist at retirement age, but that is exactly what some of the recent rhetoric around ‘intergenerational unfairness’ does,” said Janet Morrison, chief executive of Independent Age chief. The report [...]