A minimum income standard for the UK in 2012

a report by Abigail Davis, Donald Hirsch, Noel Smith, Jacqueline Beckhelling and Matt Padley published by JRF (Joseph Rowntree Foundation)

What income do people need to achieve a socially acceptable standard of living?

Soaring childcare and transport costs plus cuts to tax credits mean families need to earn a third more post-recession to make ends meet.

• A video and infographics www.jrf.org.uk/mis illustrate the data.
• An interactive visual http://mis.jrf.org.uk lets you explore what goods MIS can buy you, as decided by members of the public.
• A minimum income calculator http://www.minimumincome.org.uk/ lets people find out how their income measures up to the MIS.

JRF’s annual update, based on what members of the public think people need to achieve a socially acceptable standard of living.

This year’s study involved 21 new focus groups, who “rebased” minimum budgets for families with children through fresh research, and reviewed the budgets of other household types. It also reflects changes to costs and living standards, updating the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) budgets to April 2012.

Showing how far changes in living standards and expectations have caused the socially defined minimum to change since the initial MIS in 2008, before the economic downturn, this study found that:

• Rising childcare and transport costs – combined with cuts to tax credits – have seen the earnings families need increase by 16 per cent above inflation since the start of the recession.
• A single person in the UK needs to earn at least £16,400 a year before tax in 2012, to afford a minimum acceptable standard of living.
• Two parents need to earn at least £18,400 each to support themselves and two children.
• Members of the public have not fundamentally altered their view of what comprises a minimum acceptable standard of living in the UK since the original study in 2008.
• In some areas of life, however, the minimum has gone down. For example, in today’s harsher economic climate, pensioners and families with children specified lower minimum budgets for eating out and for exchanging Christmas and birthday presents.
• In other areas, new requirements have emerged since 2008. Computers and the internet are now considered necessities for all working-age families.

Summary (PDF 4pp)
Full text (PDF 52pp)

Hazel’s comment:
I was convinced that I had posted on this report last week but I can’t find it so rather than not include it at all I may have done it twice! So much for indexing!

---