GBP 500 Weekly Benefit Cap Starts

£500 Weekly Benefit Cap Starts.

The new £500 benefits limit is being rolled out across the UK, these changes will apply to people aged 16 to 64.

The changes will see couples and single parents receiving up to £500 a week, while single people will receive up to £350 a week.  That's £26,000 per year and £18,200 per year for a single person.

These new changes are part of the government’s biggest benefit change since the 1940s. The key areas affected are jobseeker’s allowance, child benefits and housing benefits.

Our View

These are headline grabbing figures and of course, those that are on benefits but live in expensive areas will not like the changes. 

Those that work hard for their money, and that is the majority of the country, support the fact that a single person can now receive no more than £18,200 pa - a wage that many people do not earn anyway.

It is totally wrong that people can receive more in benefits than many people earn. 

We accept that some people with larger families will suffer.  The question really is why are people having larger families that they cannot afford?  Is it perhaps because they expect the state to look after them? That said, children going hungry is not a situation that any of us want.  This is a difficult line for the government "to walk".

As with all benefits and taxes changes there will be winners and losers.