Age-band of the Individual, the Head of the Household or the Head of the Family (Benefit Unit)

Dataset: Family Resources Survey (Adult, Child, Individual, Family (Benefit Unit), Household, Household Food Security)

Field: Age-band of the Individual, the Head of the Household or the Head of the Family (Benefit Unit)

Description

Age-band of an individual, the head of a household or the head of a family (benefit unit) derived from their age at their last birthday (at the time of the interview), as reported by the FRS respondent, where:

A household consists of one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address, who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room or dining area. A household will consist of one or more benefit units.
Where we refer to the "head" of a household, this is the Household Reference Person (HRP). The HRP is the highest income householder:

In a single-adult household, the HRP is simply the sole householder (i.e. the person in whose name the accommodation is owned or rented)
If there are two or more householders, the HRP is the householder with the highest personal income, taking all sources of income into account
If there are two or more householders who have the same income, the HRP is the elder

A benefit unit may consist of: a single adult, or a married or cohabiting couple, plus any dependent children. Same-sex partners (civil partners and cohabitees) have been included in the same benefit unit since January 2006.
If the household reference person does not belong to the benefit unit, then the head of benefit unit is simply the first person from that benefit unit, in the order they were named in the interview. If the household reference person does belong to the benefit unit, they are also the head of that benefit unit.

Classification

Applicable to: all individuals.

0 to 4
5 to 10
11 to 15
16 to 19 (child)*
16 to 24 (adult)
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 59
60 to 64
65 to 74
75 to 84
85 or over

*All individuals who are aged 16 and over are classified as adults, except those aged 16 to 19 years old who are classified as dependent children.

Those aged 16 to 19 years olds will be defined as dependent children if they are:

Not married nor in a civil partnership nor living with a partner
Living with parents (or a responsible adult)
In full-time non-advanced education or in unwaged government training

Total number of categories: 13

Quality Statement

Further information can be found in the FRS Background Note and Methodology here.