EUROPE: 1 in 7 pensioners at risk of poverty in the EU

In 2017 the proportion of pensioners at risk of poverty in the European Union was estimated to be 14.2%, slightly above the figure of 13.8 % in 2016.

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The rate has been rising gradually since 2013, when it was 12.6%.

For Cyprus the at-risk-of-poverty rate for pensioners was way above the EU average at 21.6% up from 19.8% in 2016.

In most of the 27 EU Member States for which 2017 data are available, the proportion of pensioners at risk of poverty lies between 10% and 25%.

The four countries with an at-risk-of-poverty rate above 30% in 2017 were Estonia (46%), Latvia (44%), Lithuania (37%) and Bulgaria (32%).

In contrast, the lowest rates were in France (7 %), Slovakia (8 %), Denmark, Hungary and Luxembourg (all 9%).

Across the EU as a whole between 2010 and 2017, the proportion of female pensioners at risk of poverty has been around 2-3 percentage points (pp) higher than the rate for male pensioners.

In 2017 there were four Member States where the at-risk-of-poverty rate for female pensioners was more than 10 pp higher than the rate for male pensioners: Estonia (+19 pp), Lithuania (+16 pp), Bulgaria and Latvia (both +15 pp).

Conversely, four countries had at-risk-of-poverty rates which were higher for male pensioners than for female pensioners: Malta (+5 pp), Spain (+2 pp), Italy and Denmark (both +1 pp).

Individuals are identified as being at risk of poverty if their equivalised disposable income is less than 60% of the national median equivalised disposable income after social transfers have been taken into account.

In the general population, the proportion of individuals identified as being at risk of poverty in the EU was 17%.