Dataset: People on Universal Credit
Field: Age (in bands and single year)
Description
Age is derived from the claimant's date of birth taken from the Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) database. Age is recorded in years when the scan of the source data is taken.
Classification
For Universal Credit data, age is available as either single year of age, or as age bands.
Applicable to: all claimants
Single year of age is available for all ages between 16 and 65 inclusive and 'over 65'
Total number of categories (excluding uknown/missing): 52
Age bands: 16 to 19, 20 to 24, 25 to 29, 30 to 34, 35 to 39, 40 to 44, 45 to 49, 50 to 54, 55 to 59, 60 to 65, over 65
Total number of categories (excluding unknown/missing): 11
Quality Statement
The age of claimant on the count date is derived from date of birth.
Date of birth is recorded as part of the Universal Credit claim process. In support of the claim, proof of identity must be provided.
From June 2019, the over 65 age group contains people aged up to and including 90 years. Up to May 2019, the over 65 age group contains people aged 65 to 70 inclusive only. People aged over 70 up to May 2019 and over 90 from June 2019 are classified as missing/unknown.
The methodology to classify people aged over 70 years as of missing/unknown age was a quality check as this age group would most likely not have been receiving Universal Credit. From 15 May 2019 onwards, a change in Pension Credit eligibility rules means that both partners of a couple must be over State Pension age in order to claim Pension Credit. Prior to 15 May 2019, eligibility was based on the older partner’s age. Where the youngest partner is under State Pension age, these couples may be eligible for Universal Credit instead. This means more people aged over 70 may now receive Universal Credit if they have a younger partner.