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A growing divide: Two decades of intergenerational unfairness

IF’s latest report provides a comprehensive assessment of how conditions for young people in the UK have evolved over the past two decades.

It brings together data and analysis across eight core policy areas: the labour market; housing; higher education; public services; wealth and expenditure; health; politics; and environmental sustainability.

Out of the eight policy areas examined, young people have fallen behind in seven of them over the past two decades. Meanwhile, in too many policy areas, government spending continues to be disproportionately skewed towards older age groups.

The report concludes that intergenerational unfairness has worsened significantly over the period.

Key findings:

• Between 2004-05 and 2023-24, real per-person public spending on pensioners increased by 55%, compared to just 20% for children.
• The gap in total spending on children and pensioners has widened by 170% in real terms.
• In 2023-24, total government spending per pensioner was £31,000 compared to £18,000 per child.
• Between 2004-05 and 2023-24, government health spending per child increased by 3% – from £1,510 to £1,559. Over the same period, government health spending per pensioner rose 73% from £4,336 to £7,522.
• Between 2004-05 and 2023-24, the per-person health spending gap between children and pensioners has widened by 110%!
• Pensioner poverty has fallen from 28% in 1995 to 16% in 2023.
• Child poverty remains stubbornly high at 30%, nearly double the rate of pensioner poverty.