Pensioner income from occupational schemes
Government statistics have revealed that the proportion of pensioner income from occupational schemes has fallen for the first time since 2005.
A study from the Government across all pensioners’ households, showed that the income from occupational pensions provided 27.8% of gross income in the last full tax year, having reduced from 29.9%, which was recorded the year before.
It was recorded by the Department for Work and Pensions (in its publication of its Pensioners’ Income Series) that the fall equated to a drop of £160 to £148 in average weekly income.
Single pensioners faced the biggest cut, with the proportion of gross income declining from 27.6% to 25.1%. Comparatively, pensioners living in couples saw a smaller reduction in the proportion of gross income, dropping from 31% to 29.2%.
Additionally, in 2017/2018, couples saw a rise in gross income by £15 per week, compared with pensioner households who were recorded as experiencing a £3 fall. Single households were hit the hardest with £20 less per week.
Pensioners in receipt of occupational pensions have also declined compared with previous years. Pensioner households receiving funds from a workplace scheme fell from 62% to 59% in 2017/2018, coinciding with a drop in weekly income from £259 to £254. When looking only at recently-retired households, the decline is more significant and those in receipt of occupational pensions dropped from 61% to 55%.
Nathan Long, Senior Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown describes, “There's yet more evidence that pensioners are being punished as a result of quantitative easing, with income from savings and investments on the slide, the data so far shows that semi-retirement is gathering pace fairly slowly as defined benefit pensions are still supporting more traditional retirements.”