People in their 60s and 70s have seen significant income growth in the last 20 years, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows.

The report says middle-income 60 to 74-year-olds have total incomes more than 60% higher than a similar group would have done in the mid-1990s.

This group saw strong income growth over that period of time, of 2.2% per year on average.

While this was partly driven by increasing state and private pension income, income from earnings was a more significant factor.

Earned income among this group has risen by 160%, and the IFS says employment rates among the over-60s are likely to keep increasing.

It warns that future generations may need to rely more heavily on earnings as private and state pensions become "less generous".

Separate research from the Office for National Statistics, published in April 2019, suggested that gradual increases in the state pension age are driving higher employment rates.

Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the IFS, said:

"The incomes of middle-income 60 to 74-year-olds are now much higher than they were in the mid-1990s as private pensions and earnings have grown.

"Future generations may actually end up with lower private pensions, but there is much capacity for employment rates of older individuals to rise further."

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