Personal Finances

This chapter is about how pension schemes ensure that they have the money to fulfil their obligations of paying out benefits to pensioners and their dependents. Specifically, the chapter is about ‘funded’ pension schemes, those in which benefits (the schemes’ liabilities) are met from a fund built up in advance from contributions and returns on investment. It does not cover ‘unfunded’ (or pay-as-you-go) pension schemes – most public sector occupational pension schemes and the state pension system – where liabilities are not underpinned by a fund.

This short article analyses some of the key trends affecting the incomes of households in the middle of the income distribution. It studies the change in median household income between 1977 and 2010/11 and compares this with changes in GDP per person for both the UK and USA. The article then looks at how the characteristics of the middle fifth of households have changed over time and how the composition of their income has changed during the recent economic downturn and over the longer term.

Data on Housing and Consumer Durables taken from the 2011 General Lifestyle Survey.

This chapter examines trends in labour market participation and the transition from work to retirement. Labour market activity is important in the context of pensions because earnings from employment help people to build savings and to make private pension contributions to fund their retirement. Employment also builds entitlement to state pension provision. Questions about pressures on pension adequacy and whether people are extending their working lives in response to increasing life expectancy is one reason why the transition from work to retirement is of interest. The chapter begins by looking at how the economic support ratio, a measure of the economic burden on working people, might be affected by the ageing of the UK population. It then examines changes in labour force participation over time, considers labour force participation of older age groups and examines trends in the average age of withdrawal from the labour market.

Chapter 5 focuses specifically on English regions and constituent countries of the UK. Household expenditure on different expenditure categories is observed and key variations are analysed.

This article examines the extent to which people in the UK were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2011 and how this compares with other EU countries and over time.

Part of Family Spending 2012 edition, a National Statistics publication.

Part of Family Spending 2012 edition, a National Statistics publication.

Part of Family Spending 2012 edition, a National Statistics publication.

This short article examines the distribution of private household wealth in Great Britain, focussing specifically on the characteristics of those households in the top 10 per cent of the wealth distribution.

Pre-release access list for Pension Trends chapter 13 , 2012 edition

This chapter examines the income and expenditure of pensioners.

This chapter looks at the resources from private pension savings and state benefit income (including state pension). The chapter is designed to show the value of the pension resources of pensioner households in the UK and, in particular, the distribution of these resources. The analyses also give breakdowns by age band and annual payments received. Comparisons between single male and female pensioners are made, as well as with pensioner couples.

This article looks at trends in retired households' income between 1977 and 2010/11. It examines changes in the income inequality and the composition of income of retired households and makes comparisons between the income of retired and non-retired households.

Pre release information relevant to publication of Consumer Trends Q2 2012.

The Occupational Pension Schemes Survey (OPSS) is an annual survey of occupational pension schemes, and is run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The survey was first run in 1953, then in 1956 and 1963, and then every four to five years until 2004 when it became an annual survey. Until its transfer to ONS in 2006, OPSS was run by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD). OPSS collects information from occupational pension schemes about scheme membership, benefits and contributions

The annual report of the Occupational Pension Schemes Survey presents results including membership, contribution rates and benefits relating to occupational pension schemes. The Executive Summary gives the key findings from each chapter.

The annual report of the Occupational Pension Schemes Survey presents results including membership, contribution rates and benefits relating to occupational pension schemes. Chapter 4 provides estimates of contribution rates to occupational pension schemes.

The annual report of the Occupational Pension Schemes Survey presents results including membership, contribution rates and benefits relating to occupational pension schemes. Chapter 7 provides estimates relating to occupational pension schemes with 2 to 11 members.

The annual report of the Occupational Pension Schemes Survey presents results including membership, contribution rates and benefits relating to occupational pension schemes. Chapter 9 provides estimates on changes to occupational pension scheme rules.

The annual report of the Occupational Pension Schemes Survey presents results including membership, contribution rates and benefits relating to occupational pension schemes. Chapter 3 provides estimates occupational pension scheme membership.

This article explores individual insolvency by region over time. It is designed to highlight the type of analysis that can be carried out using individual insolvency data. Data on individual insolvency is published by the Insolvency Service.

Introduction chapter to the part 3 results from the Wealth and Assets Survey incorporating results from the second wave of the survey.

Pre release access list for Chapter 7 Pension Trends (2012 edition)

Pension Trends Chapter 7: Private pension scheme membership