Independent Age polling finds 54% of working-age Londoners lack confidence in retirement finances, as charity warns of growing later-life poverty crisis affecting 200,000 older Londoners today
More than half of adults under 65 in Greater London do not believe they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, according to new polling published today by Independent Age — the national charity focused exclusively on supporting older people facing financial hardship.
The findings, released as Independent Age launches a new five-year strategy and visual identity, reveal significant anxiety about financial security in later life across working-age Londoners, alongside documented hardship among older people already in retirement across the capital.
What the Polling Found
The survey produced two distinct sets of findings covering different age groups:
Working-age Londoners (under 65):
- 54 percent are not confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement
Older Londoners (over 65):
- 46 percent are worried about being able to afford basic essential costs — including food, housing, and utility bills — over the coming six months
Together, these figures paint a picture of financial insecurity in later life that spans both those approaching retirement and those already living through it — a pattern Independent Age describes as a systemic problem rather than a collection of individual circumstances.
The Scale of Later-Life Poverty in London and the UK
The polling sits within a documented national problem of pensioner poverty that affects a substantial and growing proportion of the older population.
Current figures show:
- 1.7 million older people across the UK live in poverty — approximately 1 in 7 of the older population
- A further one million older people live just above the poverty line in conditions of financial precarity
- An estimated 200,000 older people in Greater London currently live in poverty
- Independent Age’s research projects that if current trends continue, the number of older people in poverty across the UK could reach 3.9 million by 2040 — close to 1 in 4 of the older population
The projected increase to 1 in 4 older people in poverty by 2040 represents a near-doubling of the current 1 in 7 figure and would place a significant additional burden on public services, NHS provision, and social care systems already under pressure.
Why London Is Particularly Affected
While pensioner poverty is a national issue, London’s specific characteristics make it a particularly acute problem in the capital.
London’s housing costs are substantially higher than the national average — average monthly rent in the capital reached £2,332 in August 2026 compared to £1,459 across England as a whole. For older people on fixed incomes — primarily reliant on the State Pension and any occupational or private pension provision — these costs consume a far higher proportion of income than in lower-cost parts of the country.
Energy costs, council tax, and the general cost of living also run above national averages in London, compressing the disposable income available to older people on limited budgets. For those who do not own their home — a growing proportion of Londoners across all age groups — the absence of housing cost stability in later life creates persistent financial vulnerability.
The 54 percent of under-65s in London who lack confidence in their retirement finances are not being irrational. London’s combination of high housing costs, lower home ownership rates among younger cohorts, and the ongoing uncertainty about pension provision gives working-age Londoners well-founded reasons to be uncertain about whether their future income will meet their future costs.
Independent Age’s New Strategy
Independent Age was founded in 1863 and has focused exclusively on older people experiencing financial hardship since 1948. The charity today launches a new strategy covering 2027 to 2030, alongside a refreshed visual identity including a new logo and the tagline “Let’s end financial hardship in later life.”
The updated strategy has three interconnected strands:
Direct support services — Independent Age operates a helpline and advice service that helps older people identify and claim benefits and entitlements they are eligible for but not currently receiving. Unclaimed benefits represent a significant source of income for older people in poverty who are unaware of their entitlements — a problem that is particularly pronounced among people who have not previously engaged with the benefits system.
Grassroots funding — The charity funds 15 organisations in Greater London that work directly with older people experiencing financial hardship in communities and settings that the national charity itself cannot reach. These partners collectively help an additional 14,000 older people in the capital.
Systems change — Using evidence gathered through its direct work and grassroots partnerships to advocate for changes to the policies and systems that create and sustain older people’s poverty, rather than treating the symptoms alone.
Joanna Elson CBE, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said the new findings should raise the alarm about the threat of poverty in later life and that as the charity enters its 164th year, its work to end financial hardship in later life is more important than ever. She said the new strategy and visual identity will help the charity better reach and support both current and future pensioners facing poverty, so that every older person in Greater London and across the UK can afford to live well.
The Unclaimed Benefits Problem
One of the most actionable aspects of Independent Age’s work is helping older people claim benefits and entitlements they are already legally entitled to but have not claimed.
The case of Thabani Sithole, 77, an Independent Age Ambassador living in south London, illustrates the scale of what unclaimed benefits can mean in practice. She was managing on the State Pension alone, unable to heat her home adequately, rationing her spending on basic costs, and finding social activities financially impossible. Through Independent Age’s support, she was connected with additional benefit entitlements that increased her monthly income by £800.
Her account — that the charity gave her dignity back and that without its help she believed she would have become homeless — reflects the practical consequences of unclaimed entitlements at a level that makes the difference between poverty and adequate income.
The most significant unclaimed benefit for older people in the UK is Pension Credit, a means-tested top-up payment available to people whose income falls below a threshold set by government. Government estimates consistently show that hundreds of thousands of eligible older people do not claim Pension Credit, leaving significant sums unclaimed that would materially improve their financial position.
How to Access Independent Age’s Support
Independent Age provides free, confidential advice to older people experiencing financial hardship and to their families and carers.
Helpline: 0800 319 6789 (free, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm; Saturday, 9am to 5pm)
Website: independentage.org
The helpline can help with benefit entitlement checks, advice on managing housing costs, guidance on energy bill support, and referrals to local support organisations.
The Retirement Planning Context for Under-65s
For the 54 percent of working-age Londoners who lack confidence in their retirement finances, the picture is complex. Several structural factors have reduced the retirement income prospects of younger cohorts compared to previous generations:
Pension provision shifts: The decline of defined benefit occupational pensions — which guaranteed a retirement income linked to salary — and their replacement with defined contribution schemes that depend on investment returns and contribution levels has transferred more financial risk onto individuals.
Housing costs and home ownership: Younger Londoners are less likely to own their homes than previous generations at the same age, meaning they are less likely to have housing costs reduce significantly in later life — a factor that has historically insulated homeowners from the full impact of pension income limitations.
State Pension age increases: The State Pension age has risen and is projected to rise further, extending the period during which people must fund themselves before state support becomes available.
Cost of living: The sustained increase in everyday costs since 2021 has reduced the real value of savings and disposable income available for pension contributions among working-age households.
Independent Age’s new strategy acknowledges that the poverty it works to address among today’s older people will, without systemic change, affect a substantially larger proportion of tomorrow’s older population — making its work both urgent for current beneficiaries and essential for future cohorts now in their working years.
