Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of single old age pensioners who currently rely solely on basic state pension for income.
The basic State Pension applies to people who reached State Pension age before the 6th April 2016. We estimate that 2% of single pensioners in the UK had income from only the basic State Pension in 2017/18.
Pensioners who receive any income of any amount from sources other than the basic State Pension have not been counted in the 2%, except for some seasonal payments these individuals may additionally receive (including Winter Fuel Payment and Christmas Bonus).