Credit claims rise among over-50s

Surge ‘highlights precarious financial position’

FINANCE: Universal credit claims are on the rise among the over 50s, while research suggests the benefit does not fit the way modern families live.

Claims for Universal Credit among older people have more than doubled between March and May to 660,000, research from Rest Less, a jobs, money and lifestyle site indicated.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT claims are on the rise among the over 50s, while research suggests the benefit does not fit the way modern families live.

Claims for Universal Credit among older people have more than doubled between March and May to 660,000.

Before the coronavirus crisis, the over-50s were already more likely to be in long-term unemployment than younger people, research from Rest Less, a jobs, money and lifestyle site indicated.

The sharp increase in older Universal Credit claimants shows how many over-50s are now struggling financially, the organisation said.

“The surge in older claimants highlights the extremely precarious financial situation that many of this demographic find themselves in today,” Rest Less founder Stuart Lewis said.

“With eligibility criteria requiring less than £16,000 of savings to qualify, this highlights how little of a financial buffer people have been able to save, despite many having worked hard for more than three decades already.

“In a year when the state pension age increases to 66, and with more over-50s claiming Universal Credit than those under 25, this is a wake-up call for Government policy in the wake of the current unemployment crisis.”

This comes as separate research shows Universal Credit does not fit the way modern couples and families live their lives.

In the study of 53 households – believed to be the first independent research to focus on couples claiming the benefit – researchers at the Universities of Bath and Oxford found numerous issues, including a lack of understanding of the system, problems calculating how much money would arrive each month and difficulties managing a single payment between a couple.

Women in particular were not keen on joint accounts, especially as some women had suffered from financial coercion and control in previous relationships, the study found.

Dr Rita Griffiths, from the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, said: “Having to decide who should get the Universal Credit and how the money should be distributed and managed was particularly hard for couples who had no other source of income.

“It sometimes obliged one partner to go ‘cap in hand’ to the other to ask for a share of the money. It could also allow one partner to take control of the household’s entire monthly income.”

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said: “This study is based on a tiny sample size and it would be hugely misleading to draw widespread conclusions from it.”

A recent survey of claimants found 80 per cent were satisfied with the support they have received, he said.