Government has released its long-awaited low income study which pitches the poverty line at incomes of less than $27,000 per annum for a single person and $76,000 for a two-parent family with two children under 16.

The study found 11 percent of households fell below the new threshold – which equates to 3,050 homes.

It contrasts with Census 2000 figures which showed 30 percent of households fell in the poor or near poor category.

Premier Ewart Brown, who unveiled the 20-page document in the House of Assembly yesterday, said it showed that last year a single parent household with one child could spend just $11.70 a day to ensure a nutritional family diet.

The study found that the highest incidence of low income households occurred for single and two parent households with young children and in elderly adult households.

The Premier said the study entitled 'Low Income Thresholds for Bermuda Households in Need' would help target programmes to help the poor.

The Department of Statistics spent just under two years researching poverty and low income models from different countries, getting feedback from local groups and consulting with international academia and organisations.

The Premier said the Department of Statistics revealed that poverty is a very complex concept to define and measure, particularly in affluent and wealthy countries such as Bermuda.

He said: "It is difficult to distinguish between those in need and those who are less well-off, especially when the social, economic and financial conditions and choices differ for families.

"For this reason, many wealthy industrialised countries use 'low income measures' to identify families in need that face serious challenges to earn an adequate level of income no matter how much they work."

So 'Low Income Thresholds' or LIT measures were developed as indicators to identify and assist Bermuda households that are economically disadvantaged or simply less well off, explained the Premier.

The LIT study revealed that in 2007 there were 3,100 households in Bermuda currently living below established low income thresholds which range from $27,000 per year for a single adult household to $76,000 a year for a family of two parents and two children younger than 16 years old.

LIT measures were derived from a nutritious low-cost food basket as approved by the Government Nutritionist combined with essential services that families need such as education, health and transportation.

They show that in 2007, the minimum expenditure a single parent household with one child needed to ensure a nutritional diet of food was $4,271 per year or $11.70 per day; housing cost averaged roughly $61 per day or $1,893 per month, the cost of fuel and power totalled close to $9 per day while health care costs averaged $7.20 per day.

The LIT measures will be used by the Department of Financial Assistance to make annual adjustments to help paid to families and the new figures have already helped work out a threshold for free child care assistance.

The Premier added: "Other programs such as free public transportation, an affordable health care system and subsidies for the elderly will certainly help to alleviate the financial burden that some households face."

Government will track the long-term impact of Government spending on the economic and financial positions of families in need, said Dr. Brown, who urged families struggling to make ends meet to contact the Department of Financial Assistance.

The Premier concluded: "Contrary to what we hear, we are a Government that cares. As promised in the 2007 Throne Speech, we do intend to see a 'more prosperous Bermuda, one that includes all of the people of Bermuda and touches every aspect of their lives." This study is just one step closer towards that end."

l What do you think? Do you live on or below the poverty line? Email news@royalgazette.bm or call 295 5991.