Submitted by a reader
A third of UK lives on insufficient income: JRF
About a third of the UK population is living on an “inadequate” income, according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
- The number of individuals below MIS rose by four million (27%), from 15 million to 19 million (from 25 to 30% of the population), between 2008/9 and 2014/5.
- At least 11 million people are living far short of MIS, up from 9.1 million, who have incomes below 75% of the standard and are at high risk of being in poverty.
[The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) is a benchmark of adequate income based on what the public think people need for a minimum acceptable living standard in the UK. This analysis monitors changes in the number of people in households with incomes below MIS, and the number below 75% of MIS, an indicator of poverty.]
- Six million children, that is 45% of all children in Britain, are among the 19 million below the MIS.
- Some 1.8 million pensioners, representing 14.6% of the age group, live below MIS.
A working couple with two young children, living in social housing, each need to earn £18,900 a year.
Weekly rental values for a private two- bedroom apartment: £345 (£1,495 per month, or US$1,860) – but that’s just on paper.
Fire Earth 