State benefits

Retirement on hold for UK’s over-60s as cost of living crisis bites

Many older people are now finding they cannot afford to meet basic outgoings. So retirement dates are being scrapped

Shane Hickey

04, Jul, 2022 @8:00 AM

Former Tory minister calls 10% rise in state pension ‘ludicrous’

Jim O’Neill scathing about decision to help pensioners while forcing real-terms pay cuts on public sector workers

Rowena Mason and Richard Partington

22, Jun, 2022 @5:18 PM

UK government’s £2.9bn job search scheme has put only 7% of participants in work to date

Intensive ‘Restart’ programme is also struggling to find enough participants to meet predicted caseload

Chaminda Jayanetti

05, Jun, 2022 @7:00 AM

Cost of living: how the payments affect people in various scenarios

From low-income families to pensioners, we look at what the payments mean depending on circumstances

Hilary Osborne

26, May, 2022 @3:36 PM

Halt shift to universal credit to protect vulnerable Britons, charities demand

Open letter to work and pensions secretary Thérèse Coffey calls for suspension of ‘managed migration’ from other benefits

Michael Savage Policy Editor

07, May, 2022 @9:00 PM

Cost of living crisis: Rishi Sunak must at the very least raise UK benefits

One in three Britons will be unable to afford the cost of living this year – help is needed now for the worst off

Richard Partington

10, Apr, 2022 @11:41 AM

UK pensions shortfall is ‘tip of the iceberg’, says former minister

Steve Webb says IT and human errors are systemic and may also affect tax credits and universal credit

Amelia Hill

22, Sep, 2021 @5:43 PM

Tending to the homeless was a rare Covid success. We’re failing again | Barbara Ellen

The arguments for bringing back the Everyone In scheme are greater than ever

Barbara Ellen

07, Nov, 2020 @6:00 PM

Britain's 18-year-olds are being given a reminder of Labour's fight against poverty | Polly Toynbee

The first child trust funds are maturing, helping to show how life might have been if such benefits hadn’t been shut down, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

Polly Toynbee

03, Sep, 2020 @3:38 PM

No bonanza for disabled teenagers barred from accessing child trust funds | Letter

Letters: From September young people turning 18 will start to receive payments from ‘baby bonds’ – but, writes Andrew Turner, those with mental capacity issues will be unable to take control of their money

Letters

27, Aug, 2020 @4:58 PM

£9bn bonanza begins as child trust funds come of age

Next month sees the first raft of an estimated 5.5 million teenagers receiving a pot of cash from a ‘baby bond’. And it couldn’t come at a better time

Rupert Jones

22, Aug, 2020 @7:00 AM