Pensioners' average weekly income after housing costs (AHC) fell from £410 in 2022/23 to £407 in 2023/24, analysis from HMRC has revealed, marking the lowest level seen since before the pandemic.

This is the lowest median income recorded since 2019/20, when pensioner income AHC was around £406 a week, although HMRC confirmed that pensioner incomes have still increased "significantly" since the survey started in 1995, when it was £206 a week.

HMRC also suggested that pensioners' incomes have been broadly stable since 2010, noting that, in the 14 years from 2010 to 2024 pensioners had similar average incomes.

In addition to this, HMRC revealed that the average income for pensioner couples was £595 per week in 2024, which was more than twice that of single pensioners, who had an average income of £282 per week.

Pensioner couples were also less reliant on benefit income, which includes state pension, than single pensioners.

However, benefit income was still the largest component of total gross income for both pensioner couples and single pensioners, at 56 per cent for single pensioners, and 37 per cent for pensioner couples.

Despite the fall in pensioner incomes, HMRC found that fewer pensioners were receiving income-related benefits in the 2024 financial year.

Indeed, HMRC showed that the percentage of pensioners in receipt of income-related benefits in 2024 was 20 per cent, down from 37 per cent in 1995 and 31 per cent in 2010.

Broadstone head of policy, David Brooks, highlighted the latest data as demonstration that pensioners are seeing falling median incomes when housing costs are taken into account, warning that some could see their finances strained in the future.

“Given the significant increases in the cost of living over the past few years, it suggests that pensioners are likely to be seeing declines in their standard of living as their household budgets become increasingly stretched," he stated.

“The data highlights the importance of the state-provided financial support, including the state pension, which accounts for the majority of income for single pensioners and over a third of the total income for couples.

“In the context of plateauing incomes, the triple lock is clearly playing an important role in supporting the day-to-day household finances of less wealthy retirees.

"In the context of constrained public finances, this is likely to lead to speculation that the means-testing of the state pension could be considered by the government to ensure the spend on state benefits is targeted on those that need it most. However, this would only introduce further complexity into a system that should be as simple as possible."

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