Pensioner (aged 65 or over) Material Deprivation

Field: Pensioner (aged 65 or over) Material Deprivation

Description

Pensioner (aged 65 or over) Material Deprivation, as reported by FRS respondents, where:

a pensioner defined as an individual at or above State Pension age based upon their reported birth date and the timetable for the legislated increases in State Pension age (see Type of Individual by Age Category for more information).
before 2023/24, a pensioner was considered to be in pensioner material deprivation if they have a final score of 20 or more and were aged 65 and over. From 2023/24, an updated suite of questions and methodology was introduced. Using a simple count approach, a pensioner is in material deprivation if they lack 4 or more items.

Material deprivation is a direct measure of poverty from the lack of items deemed to be necessary for a minimum acceptable standard of living. Further information can be found in the HBAI Quality and Methodology Information Report which accompanies the latest release.

For children and working-age adults, material deprivation is also presented as an indicator in combination with a low-income threshold. However, for pensioners, the concept of material deprivation is broader and very different from low income, therefore it is appropriate to present it as a separate measure.

Classification

Applicable to: Pensioners aged 65 or over

Not in pensioner material deprivation
In pensioner material deprivation
Not applicable (individual is not a pensioner aged 65 or over)
Not available (before 2009/10)

Number of categories: 4

Quality Statement

Updated 2023/24 questions for material deprivation items for children, working-age adults and pensioners were introduced into the 2023/24 FRS and asked to 75% of households. The remaining 25% of households were asked the old questions (2010/11 questions for children and working-age adults and 2009/10 questions for pensioners). To provide responses and reasons for households asked the old questions for the updated measure, imputation included using responses and reasons where old questions were similar. Estimates using the old questions and old methodology and 2023/24 questions and updated methodology are not comparable. Further information can be found in the Technical report: update to measures using material deprivation for households below average income FYE 2024, which accompanies the release of the HBAI 2023/24 statistics.

For the 2021/22 data, all estimates of material deprivation, including when combined with low income measures, are not strictly comparable with previous years. Several of the questions asked as part of the material deprivation measure were affected by government restrictions introduced in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although the impact on survey responses was less marked than last year, restrictions remained in place throughout the first quarter of the survey year and the effect the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had on social interactions continued to unwind during the remainder of the survey year as restrictions were removed and society began returning to normal. Changes in recorded material deprivation for 2021/22 may not fully reflect the real change in household circumstances compared to the pre-pandemic period. Further details can be found in the technical report which accompanies the release of the 2021/22 statistics.

All estimates of material deprivation for 2022/23 should only be directly compared with periods up to and including 2019/20. During 2020/21 (not included in this dataset) and 2021/22, several of the questions asked as part of the material deprivation measure were affected by government restrictions introduced in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Further details can be found in the technical report which accompanies the annual release of these statistics.

Up to 2017/18, the back series of material deprivation statistics include pensioners aged 65 and over. Since equalisation of State Pension Age, later estimates reflect pensioners aged at or above State Pension Age. The State Pension age for both men and women was 66 throughout the financial year 2023 to 2024.

Further information can be found in the HBAI Quality and Methodology Report here.