Social security spending out of control?

[Wizeman]

The UK spends about £334 billion on social security. Around £177 billion of that goes on pensions, which as a young person I’d definitely want when I’m older — especially if I’ve worked all my life and paid into the system. What I don’t understand is why some younger people are against older people getting a pension, because one day they’ll want one too.

About £145 billion goes towards working-age benefits, which is a massive amount of money. Around £76 billion of that is for disabled people, which I think is fair and necessary. But you hear so many stories about people taking advantage of the system, and a lot of those stories turn out to be true.

They say about 1 in 3 people in Britain are on some kind of benefit. I’ve personally been in hospital with serious injuries and had operations that put me out of work for months, and it never crossed my mind to claim benefits. I’ve also been out of work for about a year before while working towards getting a new job, and I just lived off my savings.

That said, I’ll be honest — I’ve always had support from my parents, like being able to stay at their house. I know not everyone has that kind of support.

But it does feel like fewer people want to work and some would rather claim benefits.
I also don’t think removing the two-child benefit cap will really solve the problem.
In Poland, for example, people get tax breaks for having kids, which encourages people to work.

Either way, £334 billion just sounds like an insane amount of money to me.

Correct. It will happen at some point anyway.

Thank you. Not convinced unfortunately.

That should be the first benefit to be stopped.

Really? Not convinced by facts? What do you base your beliefs on? Do you have some links that say the opposite? Or is it just a general feeling?

As per other post. Benefits should only be paid if you have contributed.

So, for example, what happens to people who are born with severe disabilities which mean they are unlikely to ever be able to work?

You say you didn’t claim benefits you were entitled to and were out of work - except that means your ni wasn’t paid, this is crucial to getting your full pension. Living off benefits when you could work and can’t be bothered is wrong, claiming the benefits you are entitled to due to disability, children, income, illness etc is absolutely fine.

@DrivinginFrance but who will vote for fhat?

Thats another issue of changing demographics because people tend to vote in their favour so more older people means more things that benefit them.

Housing costs are a huge part of the problem particularly for the young.

Agree. I work in benefits for older people and so many have barely worked or have been self employed and never paid full Ni contributions. They then get pension credit and all the freebies and free rent and council tax paid that comes with claiming pension credit. And it's that that breeds resentment from people who have slogged away all their lives and end up worse off than those who haven't. I do understand that some people have lifelong disabilities or caring responsibilities that has meant they could not work so I am not including those in this.

@DrivinginFrance some people don’t have the capacity to work ever due to severe disability, my dsd functions at the level of an 18 month old or so, also has dozens of seizures a day, needs 2:1 care … do you want for them not to exist?

There would be extenuating circumstance for extremely severe causes. We will move away from the expectation of benefits when someone hasn't contributed. In other words very very difficult to claim anything unless you have contributed.

Are you new to MN @DrivinginFrance ?

We don't need rent control we need council housing for working people. The state should be landlord of first resort not last resort.

Hi, yes I am. Should I have posted links?

Why would anyone expect you to post links? You have posted your opinion not facts. What an odd thing to say.

Anyway, welcome to MN. I hope you enjoy it here. 🙂

What are you getting at there, do you often ask posters how long they have been here

I thought you needed facts to back up what is said. Obviously not, thank you.

That is what I wondered. I thought I had broken protocol.

That’s not quite true. The latest figures I’ve seen - from May 2025 - say that 34% of people on Universal Credit are in work. That’s not even a majority of people.

But for some reason posters always want to start threads bashing disability benefits and pensions, not UC. No idea why.

Stats I’m referring to are here, before anyone tells me I’m talking rubbish,

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-12-june-2025/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-12-june-2025

End the triple lock.

Make full time minimum wage enough for one person to live a modest life in a modest home (a one bed flat not a room in a shared house), or enough for 2 people working minimum wage to afford a life and a child. There should be no need for benefits for healthy functioning working adults, the fact that there is a need is a massive problem.

I wondered how long before LL would be blamed.

Can anyone let me know what LL is?

Take it you’re not a state pensioner?

I think we have 'met' before, so i have probably already asked you this, but:

1. Why are you so certain younger generations will not get a pension?
2. Given that every thread about this ends with pearl-clutching about no government would ever dare even tinker with the triple lock, to move from that to completely abolishing pensions in a couple of generations would be quite a thing.
3. You presumably are paying NI so would you be OK with no pension at the end of your working life (I am well aware there is no 'pot' earmaked for me and today's pensions are being paid by today's workers, so no one needs to explain that to me thanks)
4. No 3 being the case, and notwithstanding the ratios of workers to pensioners increasing, why are some MNetters so against the principle of this to the point of shocking agism? What would their solution be?