Pensioners (those aged 65 years and above) comprise almost 12% of the population of the Republic of Ireland. However, they are far from a homogeneous group, differing by health, wealth, income and marital status among other things. In this Research inBrief, pensioners are examined under just one of these headings – income.
The research finds that, for the most part, pensioners sit in the middle of the income distribution (above the bottom 20% but below the top 40%). Overall, 60% of pensioners are in the bottom half of the income distribution while 40% are in the top half.
It is useful to know where pensioners are in the income distribution given considerations of policy changes to areas such as taxes, pensions and free or subsidised public services.
- This Research inBrief is based on a presentation by the author to the Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Pension Policy Research Group (PPRG) on 9th January 2015. The slides from that presentation are available here.
- A larger version of the charts in this inBrief are available here.