As good as it gets? The adequacy of retirement income for current and future generations of pensioners

Recent strong growth in the incomes of pensioner households and reductions in pensioner poverty are to be welcomed. But set against much weaker incomes for working age households and the challenges younger generations are facing in accumulating wealth, anxiety is building that these outcomes may not be sustained for future generations of retirees. Their prospects are particularly uncertain given both the big shifts in pensions policy currently in train and the fiscal costs associated with rising longevity and the baby boomer generation entering retirement.

This 12^th report for the Intergenerational Commission focuses on what these trends mean for pensions adequacy from an intergenerational perspective. We present detailed findings on the adequacy of retirement incomes for recent cohorts of retirees in Great Britain, along with projections of future adequacy both across and within generations for all of today’s working age adults.