A study from the think tank the Institute of Fiscal Study (IFS) showed the over-60s are the only group to have become better off since 2007/08.

The BBC reports the think tank said it was “a triumph of social policy” and poverty in old age was being reduced.

However, the study also found younger people have become poorer since the financial crisis of 2008.

The median income of the over 60s grew by 2% to 3% between 2007/08 and 2011/12, continuing a long-term trend, the IFS said.

“The face of poverty has become much younger during recent decades,” IFS senior research economist David Phillips said.

“It is young people who have suffered most as a result of the recent recession and who are now at risk of falling further behind.

“It is important that policymakers and politicians understand these profound changes to patterns of low incomes and respond accordingly.”