Analysis and action on living standards
Household incomes and consumption patterns provide a lens on day-to-day living standards. We explore these measures here, with a specific focus on how changes to the tax and benefit system are affecting them, and the experience of poverty for different generations over the life course.
Disposable household income before housing costs brings together employment within households, pay, direct taxes, benefits, and private pension payments and contributions. The data in this section explores trends in real before-housing-costs income, and the picture across different age groups and birth cohorts.
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Financial years after 1993 (so 1994 refers to 1994-95). Data for 1992 and 1993 have been interpolated. Northern Ireland data is missing prior to 2002. Incomes are equivalised to account for differences in household size. Data is smoothed using three-year rolling averages.
RF analysis of IFS, Households Below Average Income (1961-91); DWP, Family Resources Survey (1994-latest)
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