The consultancy said the overall pensioner poverty rate, measured on a consistent basis, rose from 15.7% in 2012-13 to 18.6% in 2023-24. Poverty among pensioner couples has remained relatively flat over the period, but rates have climbed sharply among single pensioners, particularly those who are divorced or have never married.

More recent corrected figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, which are not yet available as a long-term series, put the poverty rate among single pensioners at 19.8% in 2024-25, compared with 11.2% for pensioner couples.

LCP said the changing composition of the retired population was a key factor. The number of divorced people aged 65 and over in England and Wales has trebled since 2002, increasing by more than a million to around 1.5 million in 2024. The number classified as single and never married has also begun to rise and now stands at around 800,000.

Two-thirds of single pensioners in poverty are women. LCP said inadequate pension sharing following the end of relationships and the continuing gender pension gap were among the factors leaving women particularly exposed.

The report also highlighted the growth of cohabitation. Unlike divorce, there is currently no formal mechanism for pension sharing when an unmarried relationship ends, potentially leaving an under-pensioned partner financially vulnerable.

Steve Webb, partner at LCP and author of the report, said: “Some of the discussion of the position of pensioners seems to imply that pensioner poverty is largely solved. But, since 2012-13, pensioner poverty has been rising steadily, predominantly amongst single pensioners.”

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