Household disposable cash rises £2,000 since recession

UK HOUSEHOLDS have £2,000 more cash to splurge this year than they did before the recession, according to offi‑ cial figures.

Estimates from the Office for Na‑ tional Statistics also revealed that the average household had an extra £300 to spend in 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.

Incomes slumped in the wake of the 2009 recession, before starting to re‑ cover in 2013. Overall, average house‑ holds were now bringing in 13pc more money each year in 2018 than they were five years earlier, the ONS said.

The rate at which households’ dis‑ posable incomes is growing has slowed, however. Households saw their spare cash rise by 1.2pc in the financial year ending April 2018, compared with the same period last year. At half the rise seen in 2017, this suggests higher infla‑ tion and sluggish wage growth have continued to squeeze living standards.

Stephen Clarke, of the Resolution Foundation, said that the ONS’S esti‑ mates showed “that growth in typical household incomes last year was the lowest since 2012”.

“Working‑age households per‑ formed particularly poorly, as rising employment was not enough to offset sluggish earnings growth and cuts to in‑work support.

There was also a stark contrast in which households have seen the big‑ gest boosts to their cash levels. Pen‑ sioners have seen a much more dramatic rise in their incomes com‑ pared to working households since the recession.

The average pensioner’s disposable income has grown by £3,200 com‑ pared to £900 for those in work in the past decade. That means retirees saw 16pc growth in disposable income, as opposed to 2.9pc growth for workers.