Millions Facing Lifelong Benefits as Sickness Claims Surge in Britain

Official figures have revealed that millions in the United Kingdom are likely to remain on benefits indefinitely as the cost of worklessness escalates. Out of the eight million people claiming Universal Credit, a core jobless benefit, four million have no requirement to seek employment. This substantial number has climbed since the pandemic, driven by a pronounced rise in individuals declaring themselves too ill to work.

Not all recipients exempt from job seeking are classified as sick; welfare rules stipulate that mothers with children under three years of age, caregivers, students in full-time education, and those nearing the end of life are similarly excused, though the majority attribute their status to ill health. Those assessed as long-term sick are entitled to an additional £5,000 through sickness benefits. Data from the Department for Work and Pensions indicates that 2.2 million Universal Credit claimants are exempt due to long-term sickness, with this figure now seven times higher than before the 2020 pandemic. Women comprise the majority, claiming at a ratio of three to two compared to men.

This 2.2 million excludes approximately one million claimants of Employment and Support Allowance, a legacy benefit for those with health conditions. Many longstanding claimants of this benefit are being moved to Universal Credit as the government accelerates migration efforts, with around 750,000 having transferred since last summer. Additionally, 300,000 individuals await a work capability assessment to determine if job-seeking requirements should apply. Two thirds of assessments undertaken between January 2022 and May 2025 cited mental or behavioural disorders, with DWP analysis confirming that 85 per cent of those deemed unfit for work had a mental health condition.

Historical benefit claimant demographics have shifted. The number of women economically inactive due to childcare is at a near record low, now at 1.3 million from two million a decade ago. Presently, the likelihood of receiving welfare is highest among those within a decade of retirement age, with 1.5 million over-50s exempt from job-seeking compared with 750,000 under-30s. Claims among older age groups have surged faster than those among younger people.

Sustained benefit dependency is increasingly common. Of the four million exempt from seeking work, 1.3 million have claimed Universal Credit for five years or more. Half a million people have remained on the benefit for between five and six years without a job search requirement. Although some of this trend is due to migration from legacy benefits, significant numbers remain on the system long term under both old and new regimes.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, architect of Universal Credit, attributes much of the rise in claims to changes made during the pandemic. The suspension of all face-to-face assessments removed critical checks from the system, and most assessments remain remote. He argues that this reduction in direct scrutiny has contributed to an increase in claims and ongoing public costs.

The Office for Budget Responsibility projects that spending on sickness and disability benefits is set to reach £100 billion annually by the end of the decade, twice the UK’s current defence budget. Recent analysis indicates that a million people are now receiving benefits in excess of the minimum wage, with 150,000 households claiming over £30,000 annually from Universal Credit alone, often supplemented further by disability payments.

Some experts believe that the present structure of the benefit system may incentivise claimants to emphasise incapacity rather than pursue employment, creating a cycle of dependency. Government officials have acknowledged the need for reform, including the redeployment of work coaches to support those on benefits with no current requirement to seek work.