Costs of healthy living for older adults: the need for dynamic measures of health-related poverty to support evidence-informed policy-making and real-time decision-making

OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to examine the dynamic properties of the costs of healthy living for older adults and to compare these costs to the timing and levels of Pension Credit for older adults on low incomes. STUDY DESIGN:This was a longitudinal descriptive study. METHODS:We used monthly inflation data and the concept of a 'Minimum Income for Healthy Living' (MIHL) to estimate the dynamic changes in MIHL from 2003 to 2022 and compared these costs with Pension Credit levels for older adults on low incomes. RESULTS:Progress in closing the gap between the MIHL and Pension Credit has been reversed by recent sharp increases in costs. From April 2021 to April 2022, the MIHL for single older adults rose from £5.57 per week below to £8.29 per week above Pension Credit levels. CONCLUSIONS:There is a need for dynamic measures of health-related poverty to support evidence-informed policy-making and real-time decision-making to mitigate the health impacts on older adults.