Britain’s annual welfare bill will be £21 billion higher at the end of the next Parliament thanks to an aging population and a rise in people disabled or unable to work, new analysis shows.
The figures from the Resolution Foundation highlight the cost of the triple guarantee of pensions and the scourge of long-term illnesses.
They are among the growing public spending challenges the next government will have to confront, even as parties vow to avoid big tax increases.
Spending on the welfare state has risen from 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the time of the financial crisis in 2008 to 11.2 percent today, the foundation said, and spending on state pensions has risen from 3 .7 percent to 5 percent. penny.
Incapacity and disability benefits have risen from 1.2 per cent to 2.1 per cent of national output amid concerns about Britain’s long-term illness epidemic, and figures this week show the The number of people affected reached a new record of 2.83 million.
Benefits bill: Welfare state spending has risen from 10% of gross domestic product at the time of the financial crisis in 2008 to 11.2% today
The think tank forecasts that total social security spending will increase in real terms – that is, after taking inflation into account – by £20.8 billion by the 2028/29 financial year.
He said 90p of every pound of that extra spending would go towards the state pension and disability and disability benefits.
According to the report, 45 per cent of the benefit increase, or £9.5 billion, will come from pensions due to an 8.2 per cent increase in the number of pensioners and a 3.6 per cent increase in the value real of the State. pension.
The value of pensions is increasing due to the triple lock, which commits the Government to increase the payment either by 2.5 percent, or in inflation, or in earnings growth – whichever is greater – and that both Labor and the Conservatives have committed to maintaining.
A further 47 per cent of the overall benefit increase will come from a £9.7bn increase in disability and disability benefits.
The question of how to handle this part of the benefits bill remains “much more contentious.”
- The UK’s economic recovery stalled in April as wet weather slowed retail and construction sector activity. The gross domestic product (GDP) registered zero growth.
