These are:
hbai_household_net_income: Household net income, before housing costshbai_household_net_income_ahc: Household net income, after housing costsequiv_hbai_household_net_income: Equivalised household net income, before housing costs (BHC)equiv_hbai_household_net_income_ahc: Equivalised household net income, after housing costs (AHC)
These variables are used in the HBAI income distribution and poverty statistics, which are published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the UK. The HBAI income concepts are defined here.
| HBAI component | PolicyEngine variable/notes |
|---|---|
| Income | |
| Usual net earnings from employment | employment_income |
| Profit or loss from self-employment (losses are treated as a negative income) | self_employment_income |
| Income received from dividends (from FYE 2022) | dividend_income |
| State support - all benefits and tax credits | hbai_benefits |
| Income from occupational and private pensions | private_pension_income (includes occupational pension income) |
| Investment income | dividend_income, savings_interest_income, property_income |
| Maintenance payments | maintenance_income |
| Income from educational grants and scholarships (including, for students, student loans and parental contributions) | student_payments |
| The cash value of certain forms of income in kind (free school meals, free school breakfast, free school milk, free school fruit and vegetables, Healthy Start vouchers and free TV licences for those aged 75 and over who receive Pension Credit) | free_school_meals, free_school_fruit_veg, free_school_milk, healthy_start_vouchers, free_tv_licence_value |
| Subtractions | |
| Income tax payments | income_tax |
| National Insurance contributions | national_insurance |
| Domestic rates/council tax | council_tax and domestic_rates |
| Contributions to occupational pension schemes (including all additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) to occupational pension schemes, and any contributions to stakeholder and personal pensions) | employee_pension_contributions, personal_pension_contributions |
| All maintenance and child support payments, which are deducted from the income of the person making the payment | maintenance_expenses |
| Parental contributions to students living away from home | external_child_payments |
| Student loan repayments | student_loan_repayments |
| Housing costs | |
| Rent (gross of housing benefit) | rent |
| Water rates, community water charges and council water charges | water_and_sewerage_charges |
| Mortgage interest payments | mortgage_interest_repayment |
| Structural insurance premiums (for owner occupiers) | structural_insurance_payments |
| Ground rent and service charges | housing_service_charges |
Nowcasting/forecasting¶
| Variable | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|
employment_income | gov.obr.per_capita.employment_income | Uprated based on OBR per capita employment income projections |
self_employment_income | gov.obr.per_capita.mixed_income | Uprated based on OBR per capita mixed income projections |
dividend_income | gov.economic_assumptions.indices.obr.per_capita.gdp | Uprated based on OBR per capita GDP projections |
hbai_benefits | Various | Different benefits use different uprating indices, mostly gov.obr.consumer_price_index |
private_pension_income | gov.obr.private_pension_index | Uprated based on OBR private pension index |
savings_interest_income | gov.economic_assumptions.indices.obr.per_capita.gdp | Uprated based on OBR per capita GDP projections |
property_income | gov.economic_assumptions.indices.obr.per_capita.gdp | Uprated based on OBR per capita GDP projections |
maintenance_income | gov.economic_assumptions.indices.obr.per_capita.gdp | Uprated based on OBR per capita GDP projections |
student_payments | Not uprated directly | Currently no specific uprating for student payments |
free_school_meals | gov.obr.consumer_price_index | Uprated based on CPI inflation |
free_school_fruit_veg | gov.obr.consumer_price_index | Uprated based on CPI inflation |
free_school_milk | gov.obr.consumer_price_index | Uprated based on CPI inflation |
free_tv_licence_value | Not directly uprated | Depends on policy parameters |
income_tax | Derived | Calculated based on income and tax policy |
national_insurance | Derived | Calculated based on income and NI policy |
council_tax | gov.obr.council_tax | Uprated based on outturn CT levels by region growth to 2025, then OBR projections of levels by region onwardss |
domestic_rates | gov.obr.council_tax | Uprated with council tax as proxy |
employee_pension_contributions | gov.obr.per_capita.employment_income | Uprated based on per capita employment income growth |
personal_pension_contributions | gov.obr.per_capita.employment_income | Uprated based on per capita employment income growth |
maintenance_expenses | gov.obr.consumer_price_index | Uprated based on CPI inflation |
student_loan_repayments | gov.economic_assumptions.indices.obr.average_earnings | Uprated based on OBR average earnings projections |
rent | gov.obr.rent | Social rents uprated by CPI+1%, private rents uprated with outturn data by region to 2025, then with backed-out private rent level growth from OBR aggregate rent forecasts (assuming social rent grows at CPI+1%) |
water_and_sewerage_charges | gov.obr.consumer_price_index | Uprated based on CPI as proxy |
mortgage_interest_repayment | gov.obr.mortgage_interest | Uprated based on outturn Ofwat data to 2025, then Ofwat projections onwards |
housing_service_charges | gov.obr.consumer_price_index | Uprated based on CPI as proxy |