The average weekly income for retired couples decreased from £817 in 2020–21 to £791 in 2021–22, a decrease of £1,352 annually, according to the latest ONS data on pensioner incomes.
Over the same time period, retirees who are alone saw their weekly wages shrink from £401 to £387, a £728 decrease in a year.
Couples of pensioners’ salaries are still lower than they were in 2014–15 (£808 per week), while single pensioners continue to earn around the same amount as they did in 2016–17.
The state provided 56 per cent of the income for single seniors and 38 per cent for couples of pensioners, exposing the dependency on the State Pension and other benefits.
Broadstone head of DC workplace savings Damon Hopkins says: “The incomes of the UK pensioners fell in 2021/22 while the state pension and other benefits once again accounted for a significant proportion of pensioner incomes. It suggests large numbers of pensioners in the UK are suffering from a declining standard of living as their incomes fail to keep pace with inflation.
“The state is already providing a significant chunk of retirees’ incomes and outsized increases to the State Pension of 3.1per cent in 2022/23 and 10.1per cent in 2023/24 look set to further embed the importance of the State Pension in people’s retirement.
“A pensions adequacy crisis is now looming large – a toxic mix of declining generous Defined Benefit pensions, inadequate savings in Defined Contribution pensions, investment market volatility and high inflation means retirees will become even more reliant on a triple-locked State Pension.
“The latest projections suggest that 12.5 million working-aged people are under-saving for retirement with the nation sleepwalking towards a retirement adequacy crisis. While we still face economic challenges in the short- to medium term, it’s imperative we don’t lose sight of the need for people to save more – this needs to be a combined Government, industry and ‘UK plc’ effort to ensure as many people as possible can realistically achieve a comfortable retirement.
“This, coupled with better innovation and governance around investment strategies, have to be priorities to complete the auto-enrolment success story.”
