Nearly half of lowest income retirees are single women

“This lowest income group is on average a little younger than the other income groups and more likely to be under state pension age which suggests finding jobs may be a problem,” Lowe said. 

He added: “We would urge all those struggling on low incomes to first check their entitlement to state benefits.”

“Government figures show about 850,000 households are missing out on £1.7bn of pension credit each year, or about £1,900 each.”

Elsewhere, earlier this month, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman signalled it will adjust its approach to its investigation into failures by the Department for Work and Pensions relating to changes to women’s state pension age.

jane.matthews@ft.com