The coalition agreement between the Tories and the lib-dems has been published. The full agreement is available to view and/or download from here

The area affecting both working age and pension benefits are quoted from the document, below:

Deficit Reduction

 

The parties agree that reductions can be made to the Child Trust Fund and tax credits for higher

earners.

Pensions and Welfare

 

The parties agree to phase out the default retirement age and hold a review to set the date at which the state pension age starts to rise to 66, although it will not be sooner than 2016 for men and 2020 for women. We agree to end the rules requiring compulsory annuitisation at 75.

 

We agree to implement the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman’s recommendation to make fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policy holders, through an independent payment scheme, for their relative loss as a consequence of regulatory failure.

 

The parties agree to end all existing welfare to work programmes and to create a single welfare to work programme to help all unemployed people get back into work. We agree that Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants facing the most significant barriers to work should be referred to the aforementioned newly created welfare to work programme immediately, not after 12 months as is currently the case. We agree that Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants aged under 25 should be referred to the programme after a maximum of six months.

 

The parties agree to realign contracts with welfare to work service providers to reflect more closely the results they achieve in getting people back into work. We agree that the funding mechanism used by government to finance welfare to work programmes should be reformed to reflect the fact that initial investment delivers later savings in lower benefit

expenditure.

 

We agree that receipt of benefits for those able to work should be conditional on the willingness to work

it puzzles me as to why single parents receive so much in monetary benefits, its well documented that a single parent working 16 hours a week gains more money through pay and benefits than that of a man working a 37 hour or more a week full time.

Just what incentive is there for single parents to go to work? seemingly the government are intent to keep certain sections of society down and this also usually results with their children living a life on benefits too - my heart bleeds.

unfortunately these days having children whilst on benefits for some is seemingly a career move.

p.s. before anyone jumps, i don't tar everyone with the same brush, as i understand at sometimes in life we may depend on benefits to survive, my issue is at those who just don't want to try and think everything is for free for years and years.

I'm not sure what you're driving at here, Jack.

HB

Hmmm, methinks bringing up a child on your own can be neither easy nor cheap...

Best wishes

Rae

Hmmm, methinks bringing up a child on your own can be neither easy nor cheap...

 

Best wishes

Rae

No it isnt, I brought my 2 up on my own until I met my hubby 10 years ago. They are now 20 and 19, and until my eldest was 8 I was on IS, I couldnt get work as I couldnt get a childminder. I then moved house nearer my parents to which I then went out to work.

I will tell you this though, on those days before I worked, that if it wasnt for my parents there would have been some days I couldnt have eaten( I always made sure my children did) as they used to give me food parcels!

Im not sure how much you get these days on IS etc but 10 years ago, I used to get about £99 week for myself and 2 children and out of that was food, gas, electric, council tax, TV license etc.

I never went out and I certainly couldnt afford designer clothes for the kids or me, but they were always warm, fed and happy.

Yes, I saw that and the sentence which worries me the most is this one:

We agree that receipt of benefits for those able to work should be conditional on the willingness to work

Soooo, if you've lost your job, you could be made to go and do any job, not matter how unsuitable or far away or unsocial hours, etc... and if you refuse, then you lose your benefits? Do we really need a system even more restrictive than it is now?

Also, hidden behind politico-speech, I am concerned as to WHO will be deemed "able to work"...

Maybe I am just over pessimistic? :-|

Hmmm, methinks bringing up a child on your own can be neither easy nor cheap...

 

Best wishes

Rae

me knows bringing up a child on your own is far from easy,its downright hard,

I think as some single parents, the ones labelled as baby machines, do get a high ammount of income support due to ammount of kids to feed, that all single parents seem to get labelled as having this ammount of money.

A single parent not on disability gets the same ammount as job seekers allowance which is what they would be claiming, the extra ammount is for the kids as is now called child tax credits and based on the ammount of money the law says you need to live on.

I just wish people wouldnt label all the same, I mean would they like us reprobates to be all put in striped dungarees and wear a ball and chain for being a single mum:D:D

I could do with a new pair of jeans, dont mind if their striped xx

i also know bringing up kids on your own isn't easy, im not saying what i say without some experience, i was a single parent for 4 years, but being honest it was probably the whole 12 years we were together, he did nothing, wouldn't work, if i got a job he would watch kids for maybe the first 2 days, i was stuck in a poverty trap. when my kids were young there wasn't half as much money and help as there is now.

what im trying to say is that these days it seems that there is no incentive for people to work and especially single parents as they get so much money and help and there usually better of on benefits - why has it come to this. monetary wise they may be better off, but for themselves they need to move on to better things and to show their kids that theres more to life, but sadly (in my opinion) benefit society is just setting a problem society ( why does the government want people to be better of on benefits? ) there's always a reason.

god bless, take care, i mean no malice.

If you read your own post it you say that a single parent going to work 16 hours a week will earn more than a MAN working for 37 hours a week or more.That must be a good incentive for anyone to go to work to be better off.How many hours a week would you like a single parent to work a week to be better off?

Dont forget now this single parent could have a couple of children to raise as well as go to work a house to run chilcare etc etc.People are not happy when single parents are claiming benefit and not working. Now people are not happy that a single parent can go to work and earn a wage to help look after their family.

It puzzles me why people think that anyone on benefits is running around having a good time and they are happy to be claiming benefit.Most people on benefit struggle every week to buy gas elec food etc.People on benefits are living on the poverty line they get the basic amount to live on every week.The basic amount to live on buys you the basic food etc etc.

I could go on for years and years to quote you jack1966 but i think i will just spend the rest off my night thinking about how i could maybe start a new career having loads of kids and getting the goverment to keep me and my family and if im really smart about it my claim could go on for years and years.

Also for jack the govt have done a little way to encourage mums who can work to support themselves, they are now allowed to keep all of the csa money;) Therefore if not disabled can afford more care, transport etc and have hope of working.

Of course thats if there are jobs, some apparantly available at home all you need is a web cam apparantly. So not okay to do what comes naturally between a couple incase things go wrong, but when offered job to apply for at the job centre they were offered this shi*ty possibility.(clothes were not required)

Right up the street of what some think we are only good for xxxx

Hi, My daughter is getting married this year.She has a very good job but she wants children and knows that she wont be the one who looks after them as she has to work. They are having to rent as they cant get a mortgage.

I think that there should be more help for mums. Her new husbands wages wont be enough for all they have to pay out.

Its a crying shame that she will not be able to look after her baby and I know its going to be hard on her.

I have told her that if she waits until she can afford a baby she will never have one.

Having children is not a privilege of the rich and its a very important job and mums should be allowed to do it properly.

Hi

As a single parent desperate to find a job (well not perhaps that kind bit too old!) seriously though I am far far worse off on JSA than I was when I was working but even when I was working I certainly did not earn as much as someone male or even female working 37 hours a week!

As Mondeo points out where does this myth that all single parents are living the high life on their hundreds of pounds of benefits come from? I for one am exsisting on JSA every day is a struggle and now its seems we are damned if we dont work and damned if we do!!

the fact that the media portray all lone mums as Vicky Pollards doesnt help of course there are some very young parents with lots of kids but Im betting the majority of single parents are divorced older and shock horror!! want very much to find work

I worked up to last year and it was great no luxuries just things like better quality food,not worry so much about heating etc and best of all able to take offspring out for a day and treat them

Mags x