UK Pensioner Poverty Rates Rise As Single Retirees Face Growing Pressure

UK pensioner poverty rates have risen over the past decade, with single retirees, divorced pensioners and women facing some of the greatest financial pressure, new analysis suggests.

Research from pensions consultancy LCP, drawing on government data and surveys, found that the pensioner poverty rate increased from 15.7% in 2012/13 to 18.6% in 2023/24. This represents a reversal of the substantial decline in pensioner poverty seen during previous decades.

Why Are UK Pensioner Poverty Rates Rising?

The increase has been driven largely by people living alone in retirement. Poverty rates among pensioner couples have remained comparatively stable, while the rate for single pensioners is now nearly twice that faced by couples.

Changes in family circumstances appear to be an important factor. There were around 1.5 million divorced pensioners in England and Wales in 2024, compared with approximately 500,000 in 2002. Pension wealth may not always be divided equally when couples divorce, leaving some people with significantly less retirement income.

Women are particularly exposed. Around two-thirds of single pensioners living in poverty are women, with the gender pension gap, lower lifetime earnings and inadequate pension sharing following relationship breakdowns contributing to the problem.

State Pension Triple Lock Has Not Eliminated Poverty

The figures have also renewed debate over the effectiveness of the state pension triple lock, which increases the state pension each year by the highest of wage growth, inflation or 2.5%.

Despite substantial increases in the state pension, poverty among some pensioner groups has continued to rise. A full new state pension is currently worth around £12,548 a year, while Pensions UK’s minimum retirement living standard for a single person is estimated at £13,900 a year, assuming no housing costs.

Experts argue that simply increasing the state pension may therefore not address every cause of retirement poverty.

LCP has called for improvements to pension sharing after divorce, greater encouragement for couples to build pension savings in both partners’ names and better protection for people whose relationships end later in life. It has also suggested making joint-life annuities the default option in some circumstances.

The findings suggest that tackling UK pensioner poverty rates will increasingly require policies that consider changing household structures as well as the overall value of the state pension.