Breaking Free: Prevalence, dynamics, and barriers among long-term benefit recipients

This research examines who relies on long-term means-tested benefits and the barriers preventing financial independence.  It reveals that just one in ten long-term means-tested benefit recipients move off support each year.

While the proportion of working-age adults claiming means-tested benefits dropped from 32% in 2009-10 to 21% in 2023-24, long-term receipt remains a widespread issue.

Based on 15 years of data, Breaking Free looks at who is most likely to remain on benefits for extended periods and the specific hurdles preventing them from reaching financial independence.

Key findings

• Around half of those claiming means-tested benefits in one year are still receiving them the next.
• For those who have been claiming for three or more years, the likelihood of leaving drops by 7 to 8 percentage points compared with shorter-term claimants.
• Moving into employment does not guarantee a route off benefits. In April 2026, 37.7% of people receiving Universal Credit were also in work.
• Only around 7% of people manage to stop claiming means-tested benefits  long-term, with many moving off support only to return a short time later.

Who is most affected?

The data highlights stark differences in people’s circumstances, with particular groups facing much higher rates of long-term receipt:

• 72% of single parents were claiming means-tested benefits long-term in 2023-24.
• 42% of adults with a longstanding limiting illness or disability were in long-term receipt, compared with just 12% of those without.
• Adults lacking formal qualifications face significantly higher rates of benefit receipt, and the gap between them and graduates is widening.

What needs to change?

People face a range of barriers to financial independence, from insecure and low-paid work to childcare responsibilities, health conditions, and a lack of local job opportunities.

Access to better-paid roles, skills development, affordable childcare, and proper health support are all needed to help people progress. To support this, the report recommends:

• Improving the supply of quality local employment opportunities. 
• Strengthening locally tailored employment support.
• Investing in adult vocational training.
• Improving the financial incentives for parents to increase their working hours.
• Supporting people with health conditions to find and keep suitable employment.

Read the report

Read: Breaking Free: Prevalence dynamics and barriers among long-term benefit recipients

Lynsey Sweeney, Managing Director at Communities that Work said:

“This report highlights the complex and often compounding barriers that can prevent people from moving off benefits. It rightly recognises that while the welfare state must serve as a robust safety net against hardship, people also need better support to access suitable employment and progress towards sustained financial independence. Building a more effective pathway from economic inactivity and towards secure employment will require a joined-up and place-based approach that recognises the diverse needs of individuals and communities. Housing associations and other trusted local organisations have a vital role to play in this, connecting residents with employment support, training opportunities and wider services to help them develop their skills and access quality local job opportunities. Understanding the experiences of people who remain on long-term benefits is an important step towards developing the solutions needed to empower people to fulfil their potential and build a more secure future for themselves and their families.” 

Baroness Stedman-Scott, said:

“Understanding the barriers that keep people reliant on benefits is essential to improving support. I welcome the Social Mobility Commission’s work to deepen that understanding and help inform how we enable more people to move into sustained employment.” 

Ryan Wain, Senior Director, Policy & Politics at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change said:

“The longer you’re on benefits, the harder it is to get off. That’s the finding at the heart of this report which shines a new light on a welfare system that’s trapping people, especially those in poor health and in the poorest places. We know that the answer is to rebuild the system and there is a growing effort to do that – this report the latest contribution to it “.