Social security spending (spending on benefits, tax credits and state pensions) is the biggest single component of government spending. The design and size of the system affects the incomes and incentives of millions of families.
The government is currently in the process of replacing six existing means-tested benefits with a single integrated payment - Universal Credit (UC). This represents the most radical shake-up to the working-age benefit system in decades, directly affecting around 7 million households who will eventually be receiving it. But currently only about 2.5 million households are on UC (see figure) - and completing that rollout with minimal disruption represents a big challenge for the next government. This reform comes against the backdrop of significant cuts to working-age benefits implemented since 2010, while pensioners have been mostly protected and have benefited from the 'triple lock' on the state pension.
The next government will face important choices about how much to spend on benefits and the state pension, and where that money should go. In the run-up to the 2019 general election we will be publishing analysis of benefit and pension changes that parties are proposing.
Successive forecasts of the rollout of Universal Credit