§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average income of the bottom 20 percent. of pensioner households as a percentage of average household incomes; and what was the equivalent figure in 1979. [13957]
§ Mr. HealdSince 1979, the median income of the bottom 20 per cent. of pensioners has risen by nearly 20 per cent. For the population as a whole, median income rose by just over 25 per cent. More information is in the tables.
Median household incomes of the bottom 20 per cent. of pensioners as a percentage of overall median income, 1979 and 1992–93 Table 1: Before housing costs— £ per week at March 1995 prices Median income of the bottom 20 per cent. of pensioners Median household income—all individuals Pensioner bottom quintile median as per cent. of: whole population median 1979 93 178 52 per cent. 1992–93 111 224 49 per cent. Notes:
1. The information in the tables is derived from the 1979 and 1992–93 households below average income datasets. 1992–93 is the latest date for which results are available.
2. Estimates are of weekly household equivalised disposable income, for monetary amounts estimates are shown as equivalent monetary amounts for a couple with no children. Figures are given to the nearest whole £.
3. All estimates are subject to sampling error.
4. Figures for 1992–93 are for two calendar years data combined.
5. Figures are for the UK.
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Table 2: After housing costs—£ per week at March 1995 prices Median income of the bottom 20 per cent. of pensioners Median household income—all individuals Pensioner bottom quintile median as per cent. of: whole population median 1979 80 154 52 per cent. 1992–93 95 195 49 per cent. 1. The information in the tables is derived from the 1979 and 1992–93 households below average income datasets. 1992–93 is the latest date for which results are available.
2. Estimates are of weekly household equivalised disposable income, for monetary amounts estimates are shown as equivalent monetary amounts for a couple with no children. Figures are given to the nearest whole £.
3. All estimates are subject to sampling error.
4. Figures for 1992–93 are for two calendar years data combined.
5. Figures are for the UK.
§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update the tables given in the written answer on 30 November 1993,Official Report, columns 426–27 [13959]
§ Mr. HealdThe information on the numbers of single pensioners treated as having notional income from savings is in the table.
Number of single pensioner recipients Amount of notional Income £ Income support Housing benefit Council tax benefit 1 14,000 17,000 29,000 2 10,000 13,000 23,000 3 8,000 11,000 19,000 4 7,000 11,000 21,000 5 6,000 10,000 17,000 6 5,000 9,000 15,000 7 4,000 7,000 11,000 8 4,000 7,000 14,000 9 3,000 6,000 12,000 10 3,000 7,000 11,000 11 2,000 4,000 7,000 12 3,000 5,000 9,000 13 2,000 5,000 8,000 14 2,000 4,000 7,000 15 2,000 3,000 5,000 16 2,000 4,000 9,000 17 2,000 2,000 4,000 18 2,000 3,000 5,000 19 2,000 3,000 5,000 20 2,000 2,000 5,000 All cases 87,000 133,000 236,000 Notes:
1. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. Single pensioners are defined as people in receipt of income support and/or housing benefit and/or council tax benefit aged 60 or over who do not have a partner.
3. There is a considerable overlap in the figures as most DpODle receive both housing benefit and council tax benefit. There is also some overlap with the income support recipients.
Sources:
Income Support Quarterly Enquiry May 1994.
Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 percent. sample inquiry taken at the end of May 1994.
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§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will estimate the total of state benefits paid to pensioners, including state earnings related pension and the basic state pension, expressed as a percentage of(a) gross domestic product and (b) the total personal incomes of the population as a whole in each year since 1979; [13960]
1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 Total benefit expenditure on the elderly (£ million) 8,752 10,138 12,134 14,357 16,105 17,456 18,522 20,241 21,703 Expressed as a percentage of GDP 5.04 4.86 5.10 5.50 5.64 5.63 5.58 5.55 5.53 Expressed as a percentage of PDI 7.45 7.12 7.34 7.99 8.28 8.32 8.11 8.15 8.05 Total HB/CTB expenditure for the elderly (£ million) 510 570 747 1,172 1,478 1,719 1,927 2,144 2,324 Expressed as a percentage of GDP 0.29 0.27 0.31 0.45 0.52 0.55 0.58 0.59 0.59 Expressed as a percentage of PDI 0.43 0.40 0.45 0.65 0.76 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.86 Total IS expenditure for the elderly (£ million) 561 624 729 924 941 985 1,162 1,302 1,453 Expressed as a percentage of GDP 0.32 0.30 0.31 0.35 0.33 0.32 0.35 0.36 0.37 Expressed as a percentage of PDI 0.48 0.44 0.44 0.51 0.48 0.47 0.51 0.52 0.54
1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 Total benefit expenditure on the elderly (£ million) 22,873 23,658 25,715 28,638 31,613 34,544 36,978 37,926 Expressed as a percentage of GDP 5.26 4.89 4.89 5.14 5.44 5.71 5.79 5.59 Expressed as a percentage of PDI 7.82 7.25 7.12 7.48 7.66 7.80 8.02 7.93 Total HB/CTB expenditure for the elderly (£ million) 2,411 2,412 2,813 3,473 3,168 3,932 4,688 5,099 Expressed as a percentage of GDP 0.55 0.50 0.54 0.62 0.55 0.65 0.73 0.75 Expressed as a percentage of PDI 0.82 0.74 0.78 0.91 0.77 0.89 1.02 1.07 Total IS expenditure for the elderly (£ million) 1,570 1,847 2,050 2,301 2,725 3,728 3,939 3,866 Expressed as a percentage of GDP 0.36 0.38 0.39 0.41 0.47 0.62 0.62 0.57 Expressed as a percentage of PDI 0.54 0.57 0.57 0.60 0.66 0.84 0.85 0.81 The Elderly are men and women aged 60 and over.
GDP = Gross domestic product. PDI = Personal disposable income.
IS = Income support (and equivalent for earlier years).
HB/CTB = Housing benefit/council tax benefit and equivalent for earlier years.