DWP payments being cut by £50 a week for 330,000 claimants

NewsCost Of LivingDWPAndy Burnham has been urged to change the rules10:44, 29 Jul 2026A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) crisis is growing - as Housing Benefit rules offer weak pension saving incentives for state pensioners as renting in retirement grows.‌The current system reduces or removes Housing Benefit entitlement for 330k otherwise eligible pensioners with private pension income, at an average £50 weekly reduction. Housing Benefit spending may increase by £3.4bn by 2044 reflecting a 14% fall in home ownership rates.‌The analysis, ‘Do Pension Savings Pay? Assessing the Interaction Between Housing Benefit and Private Pension Savings for Older Renters’, sponsored by Independent Age, warns the means test of private pension savings used to calculate the amount of HB a pensioner (or