The data found that the proportion of the elderly experiencing consistent poverty, hence being simultaneously at risk of poverty and material deprivation stood at 10.5 percent in 2014, the second year of rising numbers following an otherwise downward trend since 2010.
In 2014, 25.7 percent of OAPs resident in Portugal experienced material deprivation whilst 10.6 percent coped with severe material deprivation with this situation reflecting an inability to access at least three items on a list of nine deemed economic needs, such as the payment of rents, loans or household bills, going without meat and fish every two days or not being able to meet an unexpected bill.
The report also found that whilst the largest group facing such deprivation, minors aged under 18, was broadly unchanged with 27.5 percent at risk, it was among the elderly that this risk had most risen, up from 23.1 percent to 25.2 percent between 2013 and 2014.
The study also looked at overall household expenditure, running from utility bills through to repairs and maintenance and found that the 2014 figure of 13.4 percent of average expenditure on such items to be the highest in a decade.
The report concluded that 9.2 percent of the population lived in households burdened by the costs of running themselves, up 2 percent on 2011.