MPs call for national strategy to tackle pensioner poverty

The Work and Pensions Committee published its Pensioner Poverty report on 24 July 2025, calling on the Government to commit to a UK-wide, cross-government strategy for an ageing society¹. The cross-party group of MPs said the strategy should help target support to tackle pensioner poverty¹.

The report calls for a Pension Credit take-up strategy for England by the end of 2025¹. It says take-up of Pension Credit has hovered between 61% and 66% for a decade, despite being worth up to £4,000 a year, with the latest figures showing an estimated 700,000 households eligible but not claiming¹. There were an additional 60,000 awards after Winter Fuel Payments were linked to Pension Credit last year, but the Committee said there is still a long way to go¹. It also concluded that a taper to Pension Credit should be considered to "mitigate the cliff-edge effect" for those who miss out¹. Under current rules, pensioners just above the income threshold of £227.10 per week for singles and £346.60 for couples miss out on passported benefits, potentially making them worse off than those with slightly lower incomes¹.

On pension adequacy, the report says the Government should decide on and ensure a minimum level of retirement income¹. It says a guiding principle should be that the State Pension provides the amount needed for a "minimum, dignified, socially acceptable standard of living", and that once set, the Government should create a plan for everyone to reach that level, reviewing those on the old State Pension that financially disadvantaged women, with 2.1 million people receiving less than the basic State Pension¹. It argued that reliance on top-ups such as Pension Credit and Housing Benefit is not sufficient, because of issues of design including the Pension Credit cliff edge, low take-up and the mixed-age couple rule that blocks Pension Credit to couples where the younger is below pension age¹.

The Committee heard that almost one in six pensioners experienced relative poverty, increasing to one in three for those in the private and social rented sector, one in four, and roughly one in five for carers and disabled people¹. Over the 8-month inquiry it heard that the number of pensioners below the minimum needed for a socially acceptable standard of living almost doubled to 2.8 million in the 15 years to 2023, and that there was an 18-year healthy life expectancy gap between poorer areas and wealthier ones¹.

Why it matters for households

The report concerns people already retired and those approaching retirement on low incomes. Its central proposal, a minimum level of retirement income set and ensured by the Government, has no announced rate or start date; the report does not say what that level would be¹. The Pension Credit take-up strategy it calls for covers England and is proposed for the end of 2025¹. The taper proposal would change how pensions affect Pension Credit for people whose income sits just above the current thresholds of £227.10 a week for singles and £346.60 for couples, where passported benefits currently stop¹. The report also flags the mixed-age couple rule that blocks Pension Credit where the younger partner is below pension age¹. The figures cited cover 2.1 million people receiving less than the basic State Pension and 700,000 households estimated to be eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming¹.

What happens next

The report is a committee recommendation and the Government has not responded to it in the material published on 24 July 2025¹. Earlier that week the Government relaunched the Pensions Commission, which the Committee said will look into how future pension savings could be boosted to help future pensioners¹. The Committee said it welcomes this but is keen to ensure those reliant now on a state pension that leaves them short are looked after too¹. No date has been reported for a Government response to the report.