Written evidence submitted by the Leeds City Council, Leeds Older People's Forum PPCM0014
● What is the state of pensioner poverty across the UK? Which groups are most likely to be affected?
According ‘Poverty and Financial Disadvantage in Later Life’ by Age UK, ‘1.9 million (16%) of pensioners in the UK live in relative poverty. Groups at particular risk – 35% of private tenants and 34% of social rented sector tenants, live in poverty compared to 12% of older people who own their home outright. 25% of Asian/Asian British pensioners and 26% of Black/Black British pensioners are in poverty compared to 16% of White pensioners. 23% of single older women live in poverty compared to 20% of single older men and 13% of pensioner couples.’
The demographic makeup of Leeds is very similar to the UK and GB. In the absence of official local data, Leeds has used nation rates to produce local estimates of poverty.
Using national data from DWP’s Households Below Average Incomes (HBAI), 16% of pensioners are in relative low-income poverty in the UK after housing costs are deducted from income (AHC) i.e are from households with incomes of £327 per week, or less. When national rates of poverty are applied to Leeds, poverty is impacting an estimated 21,000 people in Leeds aged 65+. This data is mirrored by Income Deprivation Affecting Older People (IDAOP) in Leeds data.
However, 19% of pensioners are in relative poverty before housing costs (BHC) are deducted from income. Because currently, most pensioners own their own home, we see higher numbers of pensioners in poverty BHC than AHC. Using the BHC measure, households are in poverty with a weekly income of £373, in Leeds this affects an estimated 24,000 people aged 65+
19% of our older population in Leeds Live in the 10% most deprived areas. This will increase as people age in IMD1 and 2 - 24% of Leeds population. There is concern this inquiry could focus on the short term. Pensioner Poverty is an issue that will only get worse in the years to come because, not only are lower (and even some middle) income people in their 50s and 60s not saving enough for retirement, but increasingly they will not be homeowners - reducing their available income and increasing reliance on housing benefits.
According to latest DWP data for May 2024, there were just over 14,000 Pension Credit (PC) claimants in Leeds, and an estimated 8,000 not taking up the benefit. This equates to £17m per year across the city going unclaimed, and an average award of £41 per week available to eligible non claiming households. Of the 14,000 Leeds claimants of PC, 67% are female, and 89% of all claimants are single. The mean weekly amount awarded in PC in Leeds is £77.37.
● How does poverty impact on groups across the lifespan?
Poverty across the lifecourse impacts carers, older adults leaving work, women influenced by the gender pay gap; diverse communities and people with disabilities:
Carers - 1.2 million unpaid carers live in poverty, and 400,000 live in deep poverty in the UK. The poverty rate for unpaid carers was 50% higher than for those who did not provide care (27% vs 18%) (Poverty and financial hardship of unpaid carers in the UK | Carers UK).
‘Older adults who left the workforce are also at increased risk of ending up in relative poverty' (https://ifs.org.uk/news/nearly-half-older-adults-who-left-workforce-2020-21-ended-relative-poverty). Leaving work due to caring or poor health will have impacts on this - In Leeds: around 6,600 people aged 50+ are not in work due to health reasons; a further 11,846 people aged 50+ (8500 for under 50) are not in work due to long-term sickness.
According to Leeds Joint Strategic Assessment 2024 “the gender pay gap in Leeds… is higher that of all other Core Cities. In Leeds, women earn on average £10,000 less per year than men. 37% of employed women in Leeds work part-time, compared to 9% of men, and when comparing the earning of full-time workers only a gap remains of over £7,000.
Other local estimates and data considering the general population (not just older people) indicate that certain groups are disproportionately impacted by poverty. For example, the demography of local Citizens Advice data reveals that women, diverse communities and disabled people/people with a long-term health issue are all presenting for advice at higher numbers than for the wider Leeds population, indicating that these groups are being more severely affected by the cost of living than the overall population. It is likely that these groups intersect with pensioner groups in poverty.
● To what extent does the current State Pension and other pension age benefits prevent pensioner poverty?
The current system does not prevent pensioner poverty due to its complexity, language barriers, digital exclusion and general confusion results in pensioners not claiming any entitlement at all beyond their automatic state pension.
Not all claimants are provided with a full benefit entitlement check/calculation as standard, and the system relies upon individuals understanding the complex welfare system, or actively approaching and engaging with advice organisations such as Welfare Rights or Age UK for tailored individual advice.
Individuals may be in receipt of incorrect entitlement for their circumstances, either because of poor-quality decision making by the DWP or through standard eligibility criteria failing to reflect and respond to the complexity of personal circumstances. We see this problem arising, for example in mixed aged couples.
The Leeds Pension Credit Uptake project has provided evidence of specific reasons and challenges for households with entitlement to pension credit, but not claiming. Key themes include:
● Households in receipt of state pension, mistakenly believing this was all they were entitled to and that they would have been notified in their state pension award if they were also eligible for other support.
● ‘Pension Credit tops up: your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single & your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner’...References to the standard amounts have led to confusion for some eligible households as their income may already be higher than these amounts – leading them to perceive they are not entitled.
● When transitioning from working age benefits to pension age benefits, some households receive a small increase in household income leading to a belief that their entitlement has been fully assessed/calculated/reviewed.
● Using an online benefit calculator independently was either not possible due to digital barriers or had resulted in an incorrect calculation – leading to eligible households not making a claim.
See LCC’s Briefing Note on our work on Pension Credit Uptake which includes first hand experiences from housing officer incomes, supporting older people to make a claim for pension credit.
In a survey for the Leeds Director of Public Health report 2024, a survey of people in later life found people:
● worried about the retirement age being raised to 67;
● not in good health to continue working but have no choice due to money worries;
● the state pension amount was acceptable as long as mortgages have been paid off before retirement.
● What essentials should the State Pension and other pension age benefits provide?
Social Security for pension age households must be strengthened and expanded. Real-time uprating of social security in line with rising inflation would address the growing gap between entitlement and need and protect against deepening poverty.
An entitlement to low or zero standing charges for gas and electricity, also controlled by a Price Cap. The average household currently pays 61p a day for electricity and 32p a day for gas – adding, on average, an extra £338 a year to your energy bill. And for those who pay on receipt of bills, these costs are even higher.
An extended “social tariff” for people on water meters water to prevent one million pensioners slipping into “water poverty” over the next few years. Already they are finding many pensioners cutting back on washing, laundry and flushing their toilets. The health implications of this really are significant.
● How do pensioners in poverty manage food, energy and housing costs with the income they have?
Investment is needed in local voluntary and community sector organisations (VCSE), like Age UKs and Care and Repair to support pensioners manage their energy and housing costs is essential. LCC invest in Home Plus, however a fair settlement for local government will make this more affordable as council’s are struggling to balance budgets.
The rate of pension-age food insecurity nationally is 3% and impacts almost 4,000 people aged 65+ in Leeds. See our research on Food Insecurity in Older People this outlines the cumulative issues leading to food insecurity in older people.
Impacts of poverty on spending on food or energy and this worsens with level of poverty. Many pensioners in poverty (Financial Security | The State of Ageing 2023-24 | Centre for Ageing Better):
- Cut down on heating to afford food - 62% of people who are struggling, 33% of people who are in serious difficulties (compared to 1% of people who are secure)
- Cut down spending on food - 27% of people who are exposed, 45% of people who are struggling, 58% of people who are in serious difficulties (compared to 10% of people who are secure)
- Ate less than they should have because they didn’t have enough money - 17% of people who are struggling, 45% of people who are in serious difficulties (compared to 1% of people who are secure)
- Avoid turning on heating and this worsens with level of poverty - 69% of people who are exposed, 76% of people who are struggling, 86% of people who are in serious difficulties (compared to 55% of people who are secure)
Funded by LCC Public Health, Leeds Older People’s Forum researched the reasons and impact of food poverty on older people, which were found to be cumulative, structural and complex. Report and webinar can be found here.
● What impact does the cost of living have on the health of pensioners in poverty? What impact does this have on the NHS and social care?
As referenced in the Leeds University ‘Deep Poverty research ‘The pandemic made abundantly clear that when a crisis hits, support needs to be targeted urgently towards those who will be worst affected, usually those at the intersection of multiple structural inequalities.’
The contribution of pensioners to childcare is incredible. ‘In total, grandparents provided an estimated 766 million hours of childcare to their grandchildren in 2022-23. If this support had replaced nursery care, its value would amount to approximately £3.5 billion.
Support flows up the generations as well, particularly in the context of rising demand for adult care in an ageing UK. Yet, resources haven’t expanded to meet growing need: age-adjusted local authority spending on adult social care was 7% lower in 2022-23 than in 2009-10, while residential care costs have surged 30% in real terms over the past nine years.[1]
Case example from Housing Leeds, Housing Officer Income, helping a vulnerable customer to make a claim for Pension Credit in Leeds - ‘I have recently had a customer who wasn’t claiming any Housing Benefit or Pension Credit at all…He just had a small amount of savings and attendance allowance and had been living off these - struggling to pay full rent for quite some time...He was referred to us by a Housing Officer who visited after he had eventually fallen into rent arrears. Noone had ever told him he might be eligible for help... After the claims were all sorted, he moved to an Extra Care Facility and now gets the support he really needs - without those claims he simply wouldn’t have been able to afford the care costs. I got an update from him recently and he’s happy now.’
Many pensioners in poverty avoid going to the dentist (28% of those struggling; 45% of those in serious difficulty; 4% of those who are secure) or socialising with friends (38% of those struggling; 62% of those in serious difficulty; 4% of those who are secure) due to costs (Financial Security | The State of Ageing 2023-24 | Centre for Ageing Better). This will have effects on physical and mental health and need for health and social care services. It is likely that the impact of this will deepen with the cost of living crisis.
● What measures to offset the impact of the cost of living on pensioners are most effective? How do these vary in the devolved nations?
Key elements of the response to the Cost-of-Living crisis by Leeds City Council and partners are detailed below:
Household Support Fund: Leeds has received £7.1m from the Government’s Household Support Fund under HSF6 and we have a mixed approach to the distribution of this discretionary funding.
Together Leeds Cost of Living webpage: is continually updated to link to most relevant information and advice including housing, health, events and Welcome Spaces.
Leeds Money Information Centre:up to date details of where to find free, independent, and confidential advice and support in Leeds.
Welcome Spaces: running each winter since 2022/23 and developed by LCC, Voluntary Action Leeds and the Leeds Community Anchor Network. People can gather for free in a warm, safe place and enjoy a hot drink and some company. Approximately 200 Welcome Spaces hosted by a range of third sector and faith-based organisations, as well as LCC Community Hubs and Libraries are expected to run this winter.
Winter Coat Appeal: coordinated by Zero Waste Leeds collects and redistributes winter coats. The appeal is live from October to the end February 2025. Included items: Coats for adults, children, and babies, Waterproofs, Fleeces, Baby cot sleeping bags and snow suits, Pram footmuffs, Hats, scarves, and gloves.
Enhance: funded by Leeds Community Healthcare, Leeds Older People’s Forum works with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations to support older people at risk of hospitalisation. The VCSE acts as proxy family sorting out bills, benefit claims, household disrepair and general wellbeing.
Energy Support
● Home Plus Leeds (Affordable Warmth): Home Plus Leeds service provides energy efficiency and fuel bill advice to lower income vulnerable residents across Leeds, as well as referrals to grants for heating and energy efficiency improvements.
● Housing Leeds: British Gas Energy Trust are working with Housing Leeds to provide tenants with £100k of energy vouchers for allocation between November and December 2023. Eligible tenants can receive up to £147 worth of energy vouchers.
● Home Upgrade Grant Funding: LCCl has been granted funding to improve approximately 750 mainly private sector households without gas central heating, with energy efficiency measures and renewable heating.
● Green Doctor: Home visit and telephone service offering specialist fuel and energy advice
● West Yorkshire Energy Efficiency Helpline (Citizens Advice Leeds): Digital and telephone service providing help and advice for fuel and energy.
● How effective are discretionary payments such as the Household Support Fund? How can support be more effectively targeted at pensioners in poverty?
Leeds has received £7.1m from the Government’s Household Support Fund under HSF6 and has a mixed approach to its distribution. The flexible DWP Guidance enables us to take account of local circumstance and priorities, including the targeting of pensioners struggling with cost-of-living pressures. And varied methods of distribution which helps in reaching more vulnerable cohorts of individuals and households, some of whom may not wish to engage with local authority services.
Varied support made available through HSF6 in Leeds includes.
● Funding allocated to residents in receipt of Council Tax Support (CTS). All households in receipt of CTS who are working age and pensioner households eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment will receive a direct case award of £40.
● Pensioner households in receipt of CTS but ineligible for a Winter Fuel Payment will receive a direct cash award of £150. In recognition these pensioner households remain on a low income as they are eligible for CTS but are not in receipt of PC or other qualifying benefit and, therefore, will not qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment 2024-25.
● Funding is allocated to VCSE to support vulnerable households not engaging with the council. Some support pensioners and include members of the Leeds Older People’s Forum.
● Support the city’s Welcome Spaces Network. Some Welcome Spaces users are pensioners.
● A Public Health priority project has been funded adding to an existing contract enabling the provision of fuel vouchers to clinically vulnerable households many of whom are pensioners.
The remaining funding is split between crisis and emergency support; alleviating homelessness; and support for housing Leeds tenants in financial crisis. Further information is available here: Household Support Fund (leeds.gov.uk)
● What is needed to improve access and take up of Pension Credit and other social security support for pensioners in poverty?
Being automatically ported over from Universal Credit
Multi-channel support options in Leeds has successfully increased Pension Credit Take-up in the city and provided vital evidence and information to target related projects moving forwards. Please see attached Leeds Pension Credit Uptake Project Briefing.
Pensioner incomes are administered separately by different bodies including DWP and local authority (State Pension, Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit etc), with further incomes such private pensions also separate to this. Many individuals believe that contact with one body will result in notification of wider entitlement and information sharing when this is not necessarily the case.
The Leeds Age Friendly Partnership is supportive of national plans to streamline and link benefit applications for housing benefit and pension credit which, when fully implemented, will likely result in fewer pensioners missing out on entitlement.
The Leeds Age Friendly Partnership is generally supportive of ‘opt out’ approaches to benefits being applied wherever possible, again to ensure households claim all that they are entitled to.
● Are there sufficient data to enable efficient targeting of support? Are there delivery mechanisms that allow effective targeting?
National datasets including HBAI and IMD are often used to inform local approaches. These can be helpful but are based on previous years data which may not accurately represent the up-to-date landscape given rapidly changing national contexts seen in recent years.
National rates of unclaimed Pension Credit are produced by the DWP. Local level estimates are only available through interrogation of datasets which require local authority technical capacity to produce and/or funding for use of data platforms – at a time where both funding and capacity within local authorities are under significant pressure.
Although Leeds has been able to calculate a local authority estimate (utilising methodology shared by Greater Manchester Combined Authority), this is all reliant on the accuracy of the national estimate.
Leeds has been utilising Power BI and ARCGIS Mapping using different datasets to inform local targeting work for a range of issues, as well as locally held data to effectively inform and target support such as Household Support Fund.
It would be good to see approaches being developed, tested and researched that focus on using existing system data across health etc to draw out people that would benefit from proactive financial wellbeing support/proactive social prescribing. There are some good examples of this for frailty and falls, with one in the pipeline for digital exclusion amongst older people (INCLUDE study).
December 2024
[1] https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/intergenerational-audit-2024/