United Kingdom
Low income and disability
Key points
- All the statistics below relate to those aged 25 to retirement.
- Disabled adults aged 25 to retirement are twice as likely to live in low income households as their non-disabled adults counterparts: 30% compared with 15%.
- While there has been no real change in this pattern since the late 1990s, the rates in the mid-1990s did look rather different, with a markedly smaller 'excess' for disabled adults (around 12 percentage points then compared with 15 percentage points now).
- Reflecting all this, a disabled adult's risk of being in low income is much greater than that of a non-disabled adult for all family types, by between 10 and 20 percentage points. Except for lone parents (where the non-disabled rate is already very high), this means a doubled risk for a disabled adult.
- The main reason that disabled working-age adults are more likely to be in low income households is because they are less likely to be in work rather than more likely to be in low income if not in work. This is illustrated by the fact that disabled adults in workless families are actually somewhat less likely to be in low income than their non-disabled counterparts.
- The proportion of economically inactive working-age adults who are in relative low income is higher in the UK than in any other EU country. Many of these people will be disabled.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By work status
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Graph 3: By family type
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Graph 4: Compared to the EU
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Why this indicator was originally chosen
As other indicators demonstrate, lack of paid work is a major problem for working-age adults with a disability. It follows that levels of poverty among such adults is also a matter of potential concern.
Definitions and data sources
The first three graphs relate to adults aged 25 to retirement rather than all working-age adults. This is because the high prevalence of low income among younger adults combined with the low prevalence of disability in that age group arguably distorts, and certainly changes, the comparison between disabled and non-disabled people.The rate of low income for disabled adults is the same for both age groups (25 to retirement and all working age). However, the rate for non-disabled adults is around 2 percentage points higher for the 'all working age' group than for the '25 to retirement' group.
The first graph shows the proportion of adults aged 25 to retirement living in low income households, with the data shown separately for disabled and non-disabled adults.
The second graph shows how the risks of being in low income vary by work status, with the data shown separately for disabled and non-disabled working-age adults aged 25 to retirement. The following work statuses are shown: all working (single or couple, with one in full-time work and the other - if applicable - in full-time or part-time work); part working (couples where one is working and the other is not plus singles or couples where no one is working full-time but one or more are working part-time); and none working.
The third graph shows how the risks of being in low income vary by family type, with the data shown separately for disabled and non-disabled adults aged 25 to retirement.
The data source for the first three graphs is Households Below Average Income, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS). For 2002/03 onwards, the data relates to the United Kingdom whilst the data for earlier years is for Great Britain (FRS did not cover Northern Ireland until 2002/03). Income is disposable household income after deducting housing costs and the low income threshold is the same as that used elsewhere, namely 60% of contemporary median household income. All data is equivalised (adjusted) to account for differences in household size and composition. Note that in 2007 DWP made some technical changes to how it adjusted household income for household composition (including retrospective changes) and, as a result, the data is slightly different than previously published figures.
Where the household contains two adults, one disabled but the other not, and one in the 25 to retirement age group but the other not, it is not possible to tell from the data which of the two adults is disabled. In such cases, the assumption has been made that half of the disabled adults are in the 25 to retirement age group.
The self-employed are included in the first and third graphs but not the second. Households where one person is of working age and the other is of pensionable age are similarly included in the first and third graphs but not the second.
The fourth graph shows the proportions of adults who are inactive but not retired in eah EU country with an equivalised household income that was less than 60% of the contemporary median for their country. Many of these people will be disabled. The EU average shown is the average weighted by population.
The data for the fourth graph is from EU Community Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (as published by Eurostat) and is for 2006. Note that this data is not directly comparable with the low income statistics in the other graphs: it comes from a different source (i.e. not Households Below Average Income) and is before, rather than after, deducting housing costs.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The FRS is a well-established government survey, designed to be representative of the population as a whole.
External links
- See the 2008 report from Leonard Cheshire Disability entitled Disability poverty in the UK.
Relevant 2007 Public Service Agreements
None directly relevant.
Relevant government policies
The numbers
Graph 1
| Year | Proportions in low income households | |
|---|---|---|
| The rate for disabled adults aged 25 to retirement | The rate for non-disabled adults aged 25 to retirement | |
| 1994/95 | 27% | 17% |
| 1995/96 | 28% | 17% |
| 1996/97 | 29% | 18% |
| 1997/98 | 29% | 17% |
| 1998/99 | 30% | 16% |
| 1999/00 | 32% | 16% |
| 2000/01 | 31% | 16% |
| 2001/02 | 33% | 15% |
| 2002/03 | 31% | 16% |
| 2003/04 | 30% | 16% |
| 2004/05 | 31% | 15% |
| 2005/06 | 30% | 16% |
Graph 2
| Family work status | Proportions in low income households | |
|---|---|---|
| The rate for disabled adults aged 25 to retirement | The rate for non-disabled adults aged 25 to retirement | |
| All working | 5% | 4% |
| Part working | 20% | 23% |
| None working | 54% | 68% |
Graph 3
| Family type | Proportions in low income households | |
|---|---|---|
| The rate for disabled adults aged 25 to retirement | The rate for non-disabled adults aged 25 to retirement | |
| In couples without dependent children | 19% | 8% |
| In couples with dependent children | 31% | 17% |
| Singles without dependent children | 39% | 18% |
| Singles with dependent children | 57% | 43% |
Graph 4
Figures are as shown in the graph.