The latest analysis, carried out by the Centre for Research in Social Policy, shows that in 2022-23, 35.9% of individuals in the UK were living in households with incomes below MIS. This means that 24 million people do not have the income required to live with dignity in the UK: they are unable to afford the goods and services the public think you need to meet both material needs and participate in society.
It shows that inadequate incomes are not confined to a single group:
This year shows the highest proportion of children below MIS since this series began, with 48.6% of children in the UK were living below MIS in 2022-23. Those in lone-parent families were disproportionately affected, with 81.6% growing up in households with inadequate incomes compared to 38.7% in couple-parent families.
Working households are not immune. More than three times as many children were in working households (5.3 million) were below MIS compared to those in workless households (1.7 million), highlighting that employment alone does not a guarantee financial security.
Young adults are facing hardship, with over half (51.5%) of 16–24-year-olds living below MIS, substantially more than any other working-age group. Limited state support and low earnings contribute to their financial vulnerability.
Pensioners are increasingly at risk and the proportion of single pensioners below MIS has more than doubled since 2008-09, rising from 16.9% to 34.5% in 2022-23. The loss of the Winter Fuel Payment is likely to worsen this situation for the poorest pensioner households.
Housing costs are exacerbating the crisis, with 72.3% of individuals in social housing and 56.9% of those in private rented accommodation living below MIS. Rising private rents, without corresponding increases in housing support, are driving more people into financial hardship.
Employment is no longer a route out of hardship and two-thirds (67.6%) of working-age households below MIS are in work, indicating that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living.
Inadequate incomes pose challenges to living standards that are not confined to one demographic group. Solutions cannot simply focus on increasing earnings and ‘making work pay’, or on ensuring that pensioners’ incomes are protected. Policy decisions need to be informed by an understanding that income adequacy is a problem that needs solving across the life-course, across different housing tenures, across all parts of the UK. Policy needs to address improving incomes and tackle the high costs of housing, domestic energy, transport and childcare. The commitment from the new Government to improving living standards for all is laudable. It is crucial that, over the coming years, these intentions lead to outcomes that make a material difference to living standards, ensuring that all are able to live with dignity.
Robinson, E., Stone, J. and Padley, M. (2025) Households below the Minimum Income Standard: 2008-2023. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation