Age UK London’s new report with data showing that poverty rates for over 50s are significantly higher in London compared with the rest of the country.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/london/about-us/news/articles/2022/poverty-report/

Wise Age supports the conclusions which show how important combatting older worker unemployment is

Headlines from the report released this London Challenge Poverty Week include:

·       25% of older Londoners live in poverty, compared to 18% in the rest of England.

·       44% of older Londoners living in social housing are in poverty.

·       20% of Londoners in their fifties are in fuel poverty, compared to 15% in the rest of England.

·       The proportion of pensioners in London living below the minimum income standard is 7 percentage points higher than for the rest of England. Ten years ago the gap was only 2 percentage points.

·       Older Londoners are 50% more likely to be experiencing food insecurity than those in the rest of England (12% compared with 8%).

The report includes data on poverty rates; poverty rates by housing tenure; fuel poverty ; food insecurity; household costs and Minimum Income Standards. Some of the most recent data is only available for the period up to just before the pandemic. A range of factors including the cost-of-living crisis mean the situation is likely to be currently even worse.