Anyone whose income is less than 50% of the median equivalised income is said to be “at risk of poverty”. The European Union uses a 60% cut-off point (before housing costs),12 while lower thresholds give rise to what is sometimes termed “severe poverty” measures (Brewer et al., A headcount ratio in the late 2000s revealed that 12.8% of the over-65s were poor in the OECD area (Figure 2.8).