v3.22.2.2
N-2 - USD ($)
Sep. 30, 2022
Mar. 31, 2022
Mar. 31, 2021
Mar. 31, 2020
Mar. 31, 2019
Mar. 31, 2018
Cover [Abstract]            
Entity Central Index Key 0001166258          
Amendment Flag false          
Document Type N-CSRS          
Entity Registrant Name Pioneer High Income Fund, Inc          
Financial Highlights [Abstract]            
Senior Securities Amount $ 107,500 $ 116,500 $ 123,000 $ 99,000 $ 125,000 $ 125,000
Senior Securities Coverage per Unit $ 3,007 $ 3,248 $ 3,275 $ 3,140 $ 3,316 $ 3,459
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]            
Investment Objectives and Practices [Text Block] Pioneer High Income Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) is organized as a Maryland corporation. Prior to April 21, 2021, the Fund was organized as a Delaware statutory trust. On April 21, 2021, the Fund redomiciled to a Maryland corporation through a statutory merger of the predecessor Delaware statutory trust with and into a newly-established Maryland corporation formed for the purpose of effecting the redomiciling. The Fund was originally organized on January 30, 2002. Prior to commencing operations on April 26, 2002, the Fund had no operations other than matters relating to its organization and registration as a closed-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), as amended. The investment objective of the Fund is to provide a high level of current income and the Fund may, as a secondary objective, also seek capital appreciation to the extent that it is consistent with its investment objective.          
Risk [Text Block]

The value of securities held by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political or regulatory conditions, recessions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, inflation, changes in interest rates, armed conflict including Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, other nations or individuals or companies and possible countermeasures, lack of liquidity in the bond markets or adverse investor sentiment. In the past several years, financial markets have experienced increased volatility, depressed valuations, decreased liquidity and heightened uncertainty. These conditions may continue, recur, worsen or spread. In recent years, interest rates and credit spreads in the U.S. have been at historic lows. The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised certain interest rates, and interest rates may continue to go up. A general rise in interest rates could adversely affect the price and liquidity of fixed-income securities. Rates of inflation have recently risen. The value of assets or income from an investment may be worth less in the future as

inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s assets can decline as can the value of the Fund’s distributions.

The global pandemic of the novel coronavirus respiratory disease designated COVID-19 has resulted in major disruption to economies and markets around the world, including the United States. Global financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and severe losses, and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. Liquidity for many instruments has been greatly reduced for periods of time. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced particularly large losses. These circumstances may continue to affect adversely the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian securities have lost all, or nearly all, their market value. Other securities or markets could be similarly affected by past or future geopolitical or other events or conditions.

Governments and central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have taken extraordinary and unprecedented actions to support local and global economies and the financial markets. These actions have resulted in significant expansion of public debt, including in the U.S. The consequences of high public debt, including its future impact on the economy and securities markets, may not be known for some time.

At times, the Fund’s investments may represent industries or industry sectors that are interrelated or have common risks, making the Fund more susceptible to any economic, political, or regulatory developments or other risks affecting those industries and sectors.

The Fund’s investments in foreign markets and countries with limited developing markets may subject the Fund to a greater degree of risk than investments in a developed market. These risks include disruptive political or economic conditions, military conflicts and sanctions, terrorism, sustained economic downturns, financial instability, reduction of government or central bank support, inadequate accounting standards, tariffs, tax disputes or other tax burdens, nationalization or expropriation of assets, and the imposition of adverse governmental laws, arbitrary application of laws and regulations or lack of rule of law and investment and repatriation restrictions. Lack of information and less market regulation also may affect the value of these securities. Withholding and other non-U.S. taxes may decrease the Fund’s return. Non-U.S. issuers may be located in parts of the world that have historically been prone to natural disasters. Investing in depositary receipts is subject to many of the same risks as investing directly in non-U.S. issuers. Depositary receipts may involve higher expenses and may trade at a discount (or premium) to the underlying security.

Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In response to the military action by Russia, various countries, including the U.S., the United Kingdom, and European Union issued broad-ranging economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus and certain companies and individuals. Since then, Russian securities have lost all, or nearly all, their market value, and many other issuers, securities and markets have been adversely affected. The United States and other countries may impose sanctions on other countries, companies and individuals in light of Russia’s military invasion. The extent and duration of the military action or future escalation of such hostilities, the extent and impact of existing and future sanctions, market disruptions and volatility, and the result of any diplomatic negotiations cannot be predicted. These and any related events could have a significant impact on the value and liquidity of certain Fund investments, on Fund performance and the value of an investment in the Fund, particularly with respect to securities and commodities, such as oil, natural gas and food commodities, with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal, as well as other sectors with exposure to Russian issuers or issuers in other countries affected by the invasion, and are likely to have collateral impacts on market sectors globally.

The Fund invests primarily in below-investment-grade (high-yield) debt securities, loans and preferred stocks. Some of the Fund's investments in high-yield securities may be convertible into equity securities of the issuer. Debt securities rated below-investment-grade are commonly referred to as “junk bonds” and are considered speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. These securities involve greater risk of loss, are subject to greater price volatility, and may be less liquid and more difficult to value, especially during periods of economic uncertainty or change, than higher rated debt securities.

Certain securities in which the Fund invests, including floating rate loans, once sold, may not settle for an extended period (for example, several weeks or even longer). The Fund will not receive its sale proceeds until that time, which may constrain the Fund’s ability to meet its obligations. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers that are in default or that are in bankruptcy. The value of collateral, if any, securing a floating rate loan can decline or may be insufficient to meet the issuer’s obligations or may be difficult to liquidate. No active trading market may exist for many floating rate loans, and many loans are subject to restrictions on resale. Any secondary market may be subject to irregular trading activity and extended settlement periods. There is less readily available, reliable information about most floating rate loans than is the case for many other types of securities. Normally, the Adviser will seek to avoid receiving material, nonpublic information about the issuer of a loan either held by, or considered for investment by, the Fund, and this decision could adversely

affect the Fund’s investment performance. Loans may not be considered “securities,” and purchasers, such as the Fund, therefore may not be entitled to rely on the anti-fraud protections afforded by federal securities laws. The Fund’s investments in certain foreign markets or countries with limited developing markets may subject the Fund to a greater degree of risk than in a developed market. These risks include disruptive political or economic conditions and the possible imposition of adverse governmental laws or currency exchange restrictions.

The Fund’s investments, payment obligations and financing terms may be based on floating rates, such as LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) or SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate). ICE Benchmark Administration, the administrator of LIBOR, ceased publication of most LIBOR settings on a representative basis at the end of 2021 and is expected to cease publication of a majority of U.S. dollar LIBOR settings on a representative basis after June 30, 2023. In addition, global regulators have announced that, with limited exceptions, no new LIBOR-based contracts should be entered into after 2021. Actions by regulators have resulted in the establishment of alternative reference rates to LIBOR in most major currencies. Markets are developing in response to these new rates, but questions around liquidity in these rates and how to appropriately adjust these rates to eliminate any economic value transfer at the time of transition remain a significant concern. The effect of any changes to - or discontinuation of - LIBOR on the Fund will vary depending on, among other things, existing fallback provisions in individual contracts and whether, how, and when industry participants develop and widely adopt new reference rates and fallbacks for both legacy and new products and instruments. In March 2022, the U.S. federal government enacted legislation to establish a process for replacing LIBOR in existing contracts that do not already provide for the use of a clearly defined or practicable replacement benchmark rate as described in the legislation. Generally speaking, for contracts that do not contain a fallback provision as described in the legislation, a benchmark replacement recommended by the Federal Reserve Board will effectively automatically replace the USD LIBOR benchmark in the contract after June 30, 2023. The recommended benchmark replacement will be based on the SOFR published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, including any recommended spread adjustment and benchmark replacement conforming changes. The process of transitioning from LIBOR may involve, among other things, increased volatility or illiquidity in markets for instruments that rely on LIBOR. The transition may also result in a reduction in the value of certain LIBOR based investments held by the Fund or reduce the effectiveness of related transactions such as hedges. Any such effects of the transition away from LIBOR, as well as other unforeseen effects, could result in losses for the Fund. Because the usefulness of LIBOR as a benchmark may deteriorate during the transition period, these effects could occur at any time.

The Fund may invest up to 50% of its total assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities are securities that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the securities.

The Fund may invest in REIT securities, the value of which can fall for a variety of reasons, such as declines in rental income, fluctuating interest rates, poor property management, environmental liabilities, uninsured damage, increased competition, or changes in real estate tax laws.

With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, the Fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related risks. While the Fund’s Adviser has established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, limit or mitigate, such cyber-attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund such as the Fund’s custodian and accounting agent, and the Fund’s transfer agent. In addition, many beneficial owners of Fund shares hold them through accounts at broker-dealers, retirement platforms and other financial market participants over which neither the Fund nor the Adviser exercises control. Each of these may in turn rely on service providers to them, which are also subject to the risk of cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity failures or breaches at the Adviser or the Fund’s service providers or intermediaries have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value, impediments to trading, the inability of Fund shareowners to effect share purchases or sales or receive distributions, loss of or unauthorized access to private shareowner information and violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, or additional compliance costs. Such costs and losses may not be covered under any insurance. In addition, maintaining vigilance against cyber-attacks may involve substantial costs over time, and system enhancements may themselves be subject to cyber-attacks.

         
Latest Share Price [1] $ 6.46          
Latest Premium (Discount) to NAV [Percent] (12.11%)          
Latest NAV [1] $ 7.35          
Capital Stock, Long-Term Debt, and Other Securities [Abstract]            
Outstanding Security, Authorized [Shares] 1,000,000,000          
Outstanding Security, Held [Shares] 29,341,635          
[1] Net asset value and market value are published in Barron’s on Saturday, The Wall Street Journal on Monday and The New York Times on Monday and Saturday. Net asset value and market value are published daily on the Fund’s website at www.amundi.com/us.