What’s an acceptable standard of living in an ‘age of austerity’?
At a time of economic difficulties and cutbacks, many more people are concerned for their futures. The fact that the JRF website crashed (briefly) in the week we launched our updated Minimum Income...
View ArticleThe wage needed to make ends meet - rising fast
Since 2008, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has been publishing its annual Minimum Income Standard for the UK, which shows how much money you need for an acceptable standard of living. This standard is...
View ArticleStatic incomes + inflation = falling living standards
Donald Hirsch illustrates the effect of inflation on our real cash incomes.Why should we get so worried when the Governor of the Bank of England makes a modest adjustment in his inflation forecast,...
View ArticleThe minimum wage is not enough – we must aspire to pay a Living Wage
Economic reality means the Living Wage can’t be compulsory. But paying it improves the lives of workers and shows social responsibility, says Shaun Rafferty.The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is going up...
View ArticleRecession pushes more young single people below minimum income standard
Living standards are being squeezed – and single people without children are the group to be worried about, says Katie Schmuecker.There is a lot of concern about living standards at the moment. The...
View ArticleThe worst five years for struggling families
A decade of progress in reducing family deprivation is being steadily unwound, says Donald Hirsch.In 2008, with our Minimum Income Standards research, the news for low-income families was grim, but not...
View ArticleDoes Universal Credit make work pay?
Making work pay is trickier than it sounds, says Donald Hirsch.Politicians love to promise that they will “make work pay”, suggesting that the main problem with the welfare system is that it makes...
View ArticleYounger generations lose out in pension reforms
Employees in their twenties and thirties lose out in single-tier pension reforms, says Aleks Collingwood.From 2016 the existing two-part state pension system is to be replaced by a new single-tier...
View ArticleCrisis in living standards for families as costs soar above incomes
As the summer holiday stretches family budgets even further, new research shows the cost of raising a child.Summer can be an expensive time of year if you have school age-children. Not only are there...
View ArticleWhy it’s too soon to claim credit for improving living standards
With almost a million more households living on less than what they need since the downturn, a lot of ground has to made up to help on the cost of living, says Katie Schmuecker.As the green shoots of...
View ArticleFor young adults the price of independence has never been higher
One in four young adults living alone now survives on less than half of what they need - less than £12 per day, says Donald Hirsch.It is plain to see that the combined dearth of jobs and affordable...
View Article£11 billion tax giveaway misses those needing help the most
Higher wages and targeted support are the best way to ensure the worst-off people benefit from recovery, says Chris Goulden.It’s almost exactly 11 months to the 2015 General Election. In that time,...
View ArticleThe Living Wage is central to addressing in-work poverty
Setting a Living Wage target should give government a little more focus, drive and leadership, says Katie Schmuecker.Set a target for one million more people to be paid the Living Wage by 2020 and come...
View ArticleWhat today’s Households Below Average Incomes (HBAI) report doesn’t say
The worst may be yet to come for UK households in poverty – only a comprehensive strategy can close the gap between their needs and resources.The official poverty statics were released this morning....
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