Pensioner benefits

At this event, IFS researchers presented the key findings from their latest report on "Why do wealthy parents have wealthy children?", funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

This report examines how household incomes were changing in the UK up to the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how other measures of household living standards have changed over the course of the pandemic.

At this event, researchers shared findings from two new reports, examining when individuals should save for retirement – given factors like earnings growth and children – and how employees save in practice.

The last decade has seen considerable change to the pensions environment. This event included a keynote talk from the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, a presentation on a programme of IFS research in this area over the last two years, and an expert panel discussion of the implications of the research.

The proportion of the self-employed saving in a private pension has declined dramatically over the past two decades, leading to continued concerns about their financial preparations for retirement. At this event we presented the findings of new IFS research that has examined this trend.

This report examines how living standards – most commonly measured by households’ incomes – were changing in the UK up to approximately the eve of the current COVID-19 crisis, using the latest official household income data covering years up to 2018–19.

This presentation was given at the launch of two reports into recent pension reforms, on retirement savings expectations and on automatic enrolment.

In this Facebook Live event, IFS Research Economist David Sturrock looked at the economics of pensions and the ageing population, answering questions such as how will changing demographics affect public pensions, and what can the government do about it?

Why has wealth accumulation stalled for younger generations? In the case of the 1980s generation, those in their early 30s actually have about 20 per cent less wealth on average than those born in the 1970s had at that age.

This weekend the state pension age, for both men and women, rose to 65 years and five months. It will continue to rise every couple of months until it reaches 66 in October next year. Further increases to 67 in 2028 and to 68 a decade or so after that are planned. These increases are the obvious, if belated, response to a sharp growth in life span.

The British economy is going to face a number of big issues over the next fifty years. Whether it is reforming the tax and benefit system, managing an ageing population, or preparing for the workplace of the future, there are plenty of challenges and opportunities ahead.

This report examines how living standards – most commonly measured by households’ incomes – have changed for different groups in the UK, and the consequences that these changes have for income inequality and for measures of deprivation and poverty. In this latest report, we focus in particular on those people who are poorest in society.

A presentation given by Carl Emmerson at the ESRI event Budget perspectives 2020 on 13th June, 2019.