Poorest and pensioners 'hit hard by recession'

Pensioners and the poorest households are amongst those that have been the worst hit by the recession, according to a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the BBC.

The richest households - though better able to cope - were hit even harder.

Across the board, real incomes in the UK fell by 1.6% a year between 2008 and 2011, the study found.

James Browne, a senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told the BBC a big part of the problem was that ''wages haven't kept pace with inflation''.