Britain’s pensioners have the fourth highest level of poverty in Europe, according to figures published today by the European Commission.
The over 65’s in Britain are, on average, worse off than their counterparts in Romania, Poland and France.
The research, which compared relative poverty in the 27 member states, showed nearly one in three UK over-65s were at risk of poverty – the same proportion as in Lithuania (30 per cent).
Only pensioners in Cyprus (51 per cent), Latvia (33 per cent), and Estonia (33 per cent) came out worse. The EU average was 19 per cent.
The figures came ahead of the work and pension committee’s review of government efforts to tackle pensioner poverty, which is due to be published on Thursday.
Michelle Mitchell, charity director for Age Concern and Help the Aged, said the report demonstrated that many older people were being left behind.
“In a country where the richest have incomes five times higher than the poorest, older people are disproportionately bearing the burden of this inequality,” she said.
Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, blamed the Labour Party for failing to address poverty in old age. He said: “The basic state pension is simply too little to live on for the millions of pensioners who have no other income. Labour’s complex and undignified system of means-tested benefits has meant that many pensioners do not even claim the extra help that they are entitled to.
“We need a more generous, universal pension based on citizenship that would give pensioners a sense of dignity and a stable income in retirement.”
The EU study found pensioners in the Czech Republic were least likely to be living in poverty, with 5per cent below the threshold of an income of 60per cent of the national median.