Dr Jonathan Cribb

In this short observation, we set out new research about the recent changes to household incomes, and who has been most affected by the recent slowdown in household income growth.

The UK's lowest-paid workers are about to get a pay rise - the result of an increase in the minimum wage on Monday.Since it was introduced in 1999, the minimum wage has risen much faster than average pay. The government is considering what to do after 2020 and further rises are possible.

Automatic enrolment is a key government policy to help employees save privately for their retirement. We find that it substantially increased workplace pension participation among those working for small employers by around 45 percentage points to reach 70% of targeted employees – with most, but not all, brought in at relatively low rates of pension saving.

This presentation was given at an IFS briefing following the Spring Statement 2019.

On 6 March the state pension age for men and women reaches 65 and 3 months. As well as reducing government spending the increases in the female state pension age since 2010 have led to some – but not most – remaining in paid work for longer. Here we provide more detail on what the impact of the rising state pension age is likely to be.

Since 2000, all households containing a person aged 75 or over have been entitled to receive a free TV licence, paid for by the government. From June 2020 onwards, the government will no longer provide the funds for these free TV licences and the BBC therefore has to decide whether to continue to provide free licences to all over the age of 75 from within its own funds. In this short observation, which will be submitted to the BBC as part of wide consultation, we look at incomes and poverty rates for the over 75s and how this has changed since free TV licenses were first introduced.

The 2008 financial crisis precipitated what has proved to be a big and permanent hit to the size and structure of the UK economy. It affects our incomes and the tough choices we face today.

This presentation was delivered at the Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance in Tampere, Finland on 22nd August 2018.

Rising house prices have not only left fewer young people able to buy a home, they have also divided them into property "haves" and "have-nots".

Received wisdom says household income has stagnated since 2008. Actually the problem goes further back.