by Gareth Morgan on May 24, 2020
Even by Universal Credit (UC) standards that might seem a little bit excessive, but it appears to be happening. It’s also a real, and urgent, problem for a rapidly increasing number of people. Once again, it illustrates how the complexity of rules within Universal Credit seems to work against the stated aim of simple, understandable […]
by Gareth Morgan on April 21, 2020
I’m not going to write much about what benefit changes have taken place recently, and there are lots of them, but a little bit about how they might affect people. This is because I’ve just finished the first baseline run of Ferret’s Future Benefits Model for 2020 to 2024. This is our big five-year rolling […]
by Gareth Morgan on March 24, 2020
(I’m posting this in the hope that it will generate some interest. I’d be grateful for comments, whether pointing out flaws or errors, or suggestions. Given the current situation, this could be implemented rapidly if workable. By all means, point and laugh but, please, do think about what could be done) I looked in […]
by Gareth Morgan on February 16, 2020
(Charts and tables amended 18/2/2020 to correct misalignment and 23/2/20 to simplify UC Calculation) The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has launched an enquiry into the economics of Universal Credit. It’s calling for written contributions to be submitted by February 29th. Whatever your views on the House of Lords as a second chamber, its […]
by Gareth Morgan on February 2, 2020
(With a lot of very, very boring but quite important numbers) This government loves sound bites and bullet points. They can look very impressive. UK minimum wage to rise by four times rate of inflation Employees over 25 will receive a 6.2% pay rise equating to £930 a year for full-time worker National Living Wage […]
by Gareth Morgan on January 11, 2020
Greggs, the well-known bakers, have been in the news this week because they are giving their staff a bonus because of good financial results. It’s always good seeing employers rewarding staff, and Greggs already have a generous profit-sharing scheme. They’ve basically just handed £7m back to the govt. I have two questions about this. The […]
by Gareth Morgan on January 1, 2020
The National Living Wage (NLW) is what used to be called the minimum wage for those over 25. It’s the hourly pay rate that employers must pay as a minimum. It tends to be the actual rate that’s paid to many, many people. When it goes up, as it will in April, the gross pay […]
by Gareth Morgan on May 13, 2019
The means testing rules for state benefits have, until now, always ignored pension savings until pension age has been reached. That means that people claiming working age benefits do not see them reduced because of any pension savings, unless they choose to take income or capital from them earlier. Once pension age was reached, and […]
by Gareth Morgan on January 16, 2019
At least, that’s what this government has decided it is. Two can live as cheaply as one, as the old saying goes. That would be good news from May 15th. This government has decided that two can live much more cheaply than one. A single person, over state pension age, and claiming Pension Credit, will […]
by Gareth Morgan on January 15, 2019
Burying bad news has a long and dishonourable political history. Choosing a day when the news is dominated by a major, and ideally tragic, story may take the focus of attention well away from other ‘difficult’ stories. The government seem to have continued this tradition by releasing the news of a major blow to pensioner […]