The age of Housing Benefit claimants

The PM has suggested that benefits will be cut for Housing Benefit claimants under the age of 25, so it may be helpful to view the figures. This table is drawn from the August release on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, Table 9a.

Age Group Total Family
Type
  Single Single with
child
Couple no
children
Couple with
children 
           
All ages 5,031,740 2,779,170 1,183,860 498,850 569,870
Under 25 383,650 164,810 171,690 14,550 32,610
25 – 34 894,200 268,820 427,020 23,870 174,490
35 – 44 964,350 349,180 385,230 23,000 206,940
45 – 49 470,420 251,080 121,250 23,590 74,500
50 – 54 383,770 250,670 52,150 37,400 43,560
55 – 59 312,690 229,400 16,540 46,930 19,820
60 – 64 333,700 250,030 5,680 68,290 9,710
65 + 1,288,810 1,015,080 4,260 261,230 8,250

The under-25s represent 8 per cent of claimants. Single people under the age of 35 have already had their entitlement limited to a single room rate, so the entitlement of those under 25 is less than the average claimant. It follows that government cannot achieve the level of savings it is hoping for by focusing on this group alone.

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