HC Deb 09 February 1998 vol 306 c81W
Mr. O'Hara

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the percentage and number of pensioners who have an annual income of £2,000 or less in addition to state benefits including the state pension. [28625]

Mr. Denham

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.

If pensioner units received a weekly income of £38.50 for 52 weeks of the year then their annual income would be £2,002.

Pensioner units with weekly income of less than £38.50 excluding state benefits
Percentage of pensioner units Numbers (million)
52 3.7

Notes:

1. The information is based on gross unequivalised weekly income before housing costs and benefit income at July 1995 prices.

2. The Pensioners' Income Series gives estimates for pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single person over State Pension Age (SPA) or a couple where the man, defined as the head, is over SPA.

3. Numbers of pensioner units are rounded to the nearest 50,000, percentages to the nearest 1 per cent.

Source:

Pensioners1 Income Series 1995–6.