Welfare spending is set to increase by £20.8bn a year by the end of the next parliament, a think-tank has found.
Resolution Foundation based the figure on current policies and caseload forecasts, and said the rise would be driven almost entirely by increased spending on pensioners and those with a health condition.
A report by the think-tank said more than 90p of every extra £1 spent would go on the State Pension and disability and incapacity benefits.
Meanwhile, the roll-out of the two-child limit will push the majority (51%) of large families into poverty by 2028-29, the foundation said.
Its report also found that since 2010, among households receiving benefits or the State Pension, pensioners benefited the most overall, gaining £900 on average, while working-age families have lost £1,500.
Resolution foundation economist Alex Clegg said: ‘Britain’s welfare system has experienced a rollercoaster of ratchets, retrenchment and reform since 2010 that have created a mix of big winners and losers.’
He said that while welfare reform is currently focused on disability-related benefits, the next government would ‘face wider welfare challenges from homelessness to childhood poverty’.
