HC Deb 08 May 2001 vol 368 cc6-8W
Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of(a) single pensioners and (b) pensioner couples have weekly incomes below (i) £80, (ii) £85, (iii) £90, (iv) £95, (v) £100, (vi) £105, (vii) £110, (viii) £115, (ix) £120, (x) £125, (xi) £130, (xii) £135, (xiii) £140, (xiv) £145, (xv) £150, (xvi) £155, (xvii) £160, (xviii) £165, (xix) £170, (xx) £175, (xxi) £180, (xxii) £185, (xxiii) £190, (xxiv) £195 and (xxv) £200. [158793]

Mr. Rooker

[holding answer 26 April 2001]: The information is in the tables. Although the income bands for couples reflect the proposed structure of the pension credit, they should not be used to estimate numbers of pensioners who would be eligible. This is because they refer to total net income from all sources, including certain benefit payments which will not be taken into account when assessing eligibility for the pension credit. Also, the figures relate to a different time period.

Single pensioners below selected levels of income, 1998–99
Net weekly income Number (Thousand) Percentage of all single pensioners
Below £80 750 18
Below £85 890 21
Below £90 1,000 24
Below £95 1,140 27
Below £100 1,310 31
Below £105 1,510 36
Below £110 1,730 41
Below £115 1,960 47
Below £120 2,160 52
Below £125 2,340 56
Below £130 2,520 60
Below £135 2,640 63
Below £140 2,750 66
Below £145 2,850 68
Below £150 2,950 71
Below £155 3,050 73
Below £160 3,140 75
Below £165 3,220 77
Below £170 3,290 79
Below £175 3,340 80
Below £180 3,400 81
Below £185 3,470 83
Below £190 3,540 85
Below £195 3,590 86
Below £200 3,630 87

Source:

Family Resources Survey 1998–99

Pensioner couples below selected levels of income, 1998–99
Net weekly income Number (Thousand) Percentage of all pensioner couples
Below £80
Below £85
Below £90
Below £95
Below £100
Below £105
Below £110 110 4
Below £115 140 5
Below £120 190 7
Below £125 240 9
Below £130 290 11
Below £135 350 13
Below £140 400 15
Below £145 460 17
Below £150 530 20
Below £155 610 23
Below £160 680 26
Below £165 750 28
Below £170 810 30
Below £175 880 33
Below £180 950 36
Below £185 1,020 38
Below £190 1,080 40
Below £195 1,120 42
Below £200 1,180 44

Notes:

1.Single pensioners (non-cohabiting) are defined as men aged 65 and over or women aged 60 and over.

2. Pensioner couples (married or cohabiting) are defined as couples where the man is aged 65 or over.

3. Incomes are defined as net weekly income from all sources, before housing costs, expressed in July 1998 prices.

4. The numbers of pensioners are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and the percentages are rounded to the nearest 1 per cent though they are not necessarily accurate to that degree.

5. Estimates are based on survey data and are subject to sampling error. A dash represents sample sizes that are too small to provide reliable estimates. Extreme caution should be exercised when using these figures to estimate the number of pensioners falling within a given £5 band of income, since the resulting estimate may not be based on a sample size large enough to produce reliable estimates.

Source:

Family Resources Survey 1998–99

Mr. Webb

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update his estimate based on the Family Resources Survey 1998–99 of(a) median pensioner incomes, excluding means-tested benefits, by age, sex and marital status, consistent with his answer of 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 128W, on pensions and (b) the size of each group. [160282]

Mr. Rooker

I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to this question on 16 November 2000,Official Report, column 790W.