The existence of poverty should be an embarrassment to any modern, economically developed society like ours. It is a moral tragedy in its own right. It also carries a broader cost to taxpayers.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) this week published a comprehensive assessment of the impact of poverty on public spending. The headline finding is that poverty costs taxpayers £78bn a year.

Much of the media coverage and comment on the report has focused on poverty among children and working-age families. But the report also provides us with some insight into the cost of poverty experienced by the 1.6 million pensioners living in poverty in the UK.