New government figures show that the assets held in an occupational pension are falling, which means pensioners are receiving less money. Pension Minister Mike O’Brien confirmed that the average amount of received by pensioner couples, from their own funds has dropped to £192 per week. This is lower than in 2003.
There has also been an increase in the number of poorest pensioners, which is now at 460,000. A Conservative spokesman commented that ‘pension credit is so complicated that 1.7million people fail to claim it and the gap between better-off and poor pensioners is getting wider’.
Our view
This criticism has been rejected by the Department for Work and Pensions DWP claiming that pensioner’s net income has been rising faster than the average earnings. Take a look at our explanation of Pension Credit and perhaps you will see why many do not understand it. We have done our best to explain how it is calculated in the Pensions Adviser.com.
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