The government should commit to undertaking a cross-party review to agree on what an adequate income in later life should be, Independent Age has said.

In its report, Together against poverty in later life, the charity argued that the concept of adequacy must be defined, with agreed-upon principles such as enabling people to lead a dignified and decent later life.

Independent Age said that this agreed level of income for later life should inform UK government decisions that affect later-life finances, such as any changes to the social security system or uprating of the state pension and entitlements.

In addition to adequacy, the charity also called on the government to develop a take-up strategy for all financial entitlements for older people.

It also recommended drawing on best practices for this, such as the existing strategy in Scotland.

It also recommended that the UK government deliver on its commitment to return the Winter Fuel Payment to more pensioners to ensure that more people living on an inadequate income in later life are supported in winter 2025 and beyond.

The report highlighted strong public backing for measures to prevent pensioner poverty, with 83 per cent of the UK public supportive of the government policy to ensure that pensions and means-tested benefits are high enough to keep older people out of poverty.

Almost two thirds (65 per cent) of the UK public were supportive of the government compensating Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) women (women born in the 1950s who were negatively affected by changes to the state pension age).

When asked about possible reforms to the state pension, 35 per cent of the UK public supported replacing the triple lock with a guarantee that the state pension will always rise, but not necessarily as quickly as under the current system.

Meanwhile, 23 per cent were in favour of abolishing the triple lock, so that the state pension no longer automatically rises each year by the highest of earnings growth, CPI inflation or 2.5 per cent.

In addition to this, 32 per cent of the UK public supported the idea of means-testing the state pension so it is only received by lower-income pensioners, while 30 per cent agreed with increasing the state pension age.

The research also showed that in terms of what they believe has led to older people living in poverty, 49 per cent said insufficient state pension, 43 per cent said the erosion of savings and pensions and 27 per cent said low take-up of benefits such as pension credit.

The report also showed that there is strong support for restoring at least some eligibility for Winter Fuel Payment but simply reinstating it in full is not the most popular option.

The most supported option was restoring Winter Fuel Payment for all pensioners except the richest 10 per cent, and 35 per cent of respondents said they would strongly support this decision.

However, the most unsupported decision was abolishing the Winter Fuel Payment for all pensioners regardless of income, which 56 per cent of respondents strongly opposed.

PensionBee chief business officer, Lisa Picardo, said the report is a "stark" reminder that far too many older people in the UK continue to be "left behind" financially.

"A modern pension system must enable and empower everyone to also build their own retirement savings, supported by reforms to automatic enrolment and better financial education from an early age," she added.

"Only by combining a fair and predictable state pension with a strong personal savings culture can we ensure that more people enjoy financial security in later life."

She said that solving this issue requires more than just changes to pension policy.

"We echo the need for urgent cross-sector collaboration to address the broader challenges of later life, from the take-up of benefits to access to affordable housing, and reducing the burden of energy and water costs," she said.

---