There is much in the news about the triple lock and the state pension with some commentators suggesting that the additional cost of uprating will be a problem for the public finances.
There are two main issues here. One is the current level of the state pension and pensioner income the other is what are the alternatives for finding the additional funds. Lets look at what pensioner incomes are.
There are two levels of state pension at the moment.
£203.85 a week for the full, new flat-rate state pension (for those who reached state pension age after April 2016)
£156.20 a week for the full, old basic state pension (for those who reached state pension age before April 2016). (1).
If we turn to looking at total incomes what do we find?
Pensioner income data is available for each quintile (fifth) showing gross and after housing costs.(2). The figures below are for the bottom and top quintile.
For couple pensioner households gross incomes range from £17,300 to £68,600 [After housing costs incomes range from £13,600 to £55,300].
For single pensioner households gross incomes range from £9,300 to £31,900 [After housing costs incomes range from £7,200 to £26,100].
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