Welfare Today’s workers, tomorrow’s retirement problem Wednesday 11 February 2015 The proportion of people saving into a workplace pension is rising again after decades of decline. But too few people are saving enough for an adequate retirement income. How can people be persuaded to save not spend when wages are already stretched? Are there cheaper, fairer alternatives to the £35bn spent on pension tax relief? … Continued READ MORE
Housing The home stretch – coping with high housing costs Monday 8 December 2014 Buying or renting a home in many parts of the country is a financial challenge for families on modest incomes. How then do these families continue to live in some of the most expensive parts of the country? What coping strategies can make the seemingly unaffordable financially possible, at what personal cost to the families … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Tax cuts in tough times – who really gains? Monday 1 December 2014 The three main political parties have all pledged to cut taxes with the stated aim of helping low and middle income households in the next parliament. But who really benefits from these policies and how much will they cost? The Resolution Foundation presented new analysis of the distribution of gains under the different parties’ approaches, and … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances A Parliament of pain? – The fiscal choices beyond 2015 and the implications for cuts, taxes, investment and debt Tuesday 25 November 2014 With roughly half of the fiscal consolidation still to come, the state of the public finances will remain a defining theme of the next parliament. Beyond the first year of the next parliament there is little clarity as to how fiscal balance will be restored. However, the emerging positions from each of the main political … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Escaping low pay: how to break away from in-work poverty Tuesday 11 November 2014 Low pay and social mobility are recognised as serious problems across the political spectrum, yet there is a lack of understanding of the extent of pay immobility and what can be done about it. On 11 November the Resolution Foundation presented the findings of our final report on pay progression. It examines the characteristics of individuals, households, … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Bigger, stronger, riskier, poorer? Understanding the new post-crisis labour market Tuesday 21 October 2014 The resilience of the labour market at the height of the downturn and its rapid recovery in recent years has been arguably the brightest spot in an otherwise troubling period for the UK economy. But years of rising employment have yet to feed through into productivity gains and real wage growth. The UK labour market … Continued READ MORE
Living standards How should we share the gain and the pain in the next Parliament? Monday 6 October 2014 After years of stagnating living standards it is vital that we share in the gains of economic recovery and fairly distribute the burden of eliminating the deficit during the next parliament. At this Resolution Foundation event David Laws MP (Minister of State for Schools and for the Cabinet Office) and Tom Brake MP (Deputy Leader … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Universal Credit – how do we make it work? Tuesday 30 September 2014 Universal Credit represents the most significant transformation of our welfare system, merging six separate in and out of work benefits into one. While the principles of simplification and making work pay are widely supported, questions remain about UC’s ability to deliver on these original intentions. The Resolution Foundation has recently kicked off an independent review … Continued READ MORE
Living standards How should we share the gain and the pain in the next Parliament? Tuesday 23 September 2014 After years of stagnating living standards it is vital that we share in the gains of economic recovery and fairly distribute the burden of eliminating the deficit during the next parliament. At this Resolution Foundation event Rachel Reeves MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) discussed the Labour agenda for generating shared growth and … Continued READ MORE
Housing Living in the House of Debt Wednesday 3 September 2014 Very high levels of household debt have been a stubbornly persistent feature of many developed economies – including those of the UK and the US – before, during and since the financial crisis. The Resolution Foundation has led UK analysis of how this debt may carry severe consequences for many families and for the wider … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Where next for childcare policy? Learning from the 2004 childcare strategy Wednesday 4 June 2014 In 2004, the Government launched a 10-Year Childcare Strategy that set the policy agenda for a decade. The event will launch the Family and Childcare Trust’s review of the achievements of the last ten years of childcare policy, developments under two successive administrations and identify key policy lessons for the future. The Rt Hon Margaret … Continued READ MORE
Housing Dealing with debt – The prospect of rising interest rates and the UK’s household debt problem Tuesday 3 June 2014 While many have benefited from years of rock-bottom interest rates the burden of household debt has not greatly declined since the financial crisis and now the era of ultra-cheap borrowing is likely to be drawing to a close. A large swathe of households remains highly exposed to the effects of rising interest rates. Yet while … Continued READ MORE
Housing Rachel Reeves MP – A better deal for savers: helping ordinary workers secure decent living standards in retirement Thursday 29 May 2014 The struggle to set aside savings and the increasing difficulty that many working people find in securing a decent income at retirement is one of the less noticed but potentially most far-reaching issues in the living standards debate. In her first major speech on pensions policy since becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Work and … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Building a shared recovery – lessons from the downturn Wednesday 14 May 2014 A speech by the Rt Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Responses: Alison Wolf – Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s College, London Paul Johnson – Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies READ MORE
Labour market Just the job – or a working compromise? The rise of self-employment and what it means for the labour market Tuesday 6 May 2014 At this event the Resolution Foundation presented the findings of a timely new report on the changing face of self-employment in the UK and its implications for the labour market and living standards. Ben Page of Ipsos MORI explained the results of a comprehensive survey of self-employed workers conducted as part of the project which … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Equity in the age of the robot Tuesday 29 April 2014 Driverless cars, delivery drones and robotic doctors are all moving from the realm of science fiction toward economic fact – examples of intelligent machines which could play an increasing role in our lives as technological horizons expand. What are the implications for growth, jobs and opportunity – both for ourselves and our children? The fear … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Reflections on the Budget Thursday 20 March 2014 At this private roundtable held the morning after the Budget, Jonathan Portes – Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research – analysed some of the Budget’s key announcements and implications. His presentation was followed by short responses from Vicky Pryce (Economist and business consultant ), Professor Tony Travers (LSE) and Ben Page (chief executive of Ipsos … Continued READ MORE
Labour market More than a minimum: The review of the minimum wage – Final report Thursday 13 March 2014 The UK’s National Minimum Wage has been an undoubted success. But as concern about low pay has gained momentum, the settlement designed 15 years ago has struggled to keep pace. For the past nine months, the Resolution Foundation has been hosting a review of the future of the minimum wage under the chairmanship of Professor … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Meeting the childcare challenge for working parents – Elizabeth Truss MP Thursday 13 February 2014 Childcare is rising up the political agenda in the approach to the 2015 election and its costs can have a significant bearing on the living standards of working parents. In a keynote speech, Elizabeth Truss MP (Minister for Education and Childcare) set out the government’s agenda for meeting the challenge of high-quality and affordable childcare … Continued READ MORE
Living standards The State of Living Standards 2014 Tuesday 11 February 2014 In one of its landmark annual events, the Resolution Foundation launched The State of Living Standards, a detailed and revealing study of life on low to middle incomes. The survey examines in depth the economic circumstances and financial pressures on the 5 million households which fall into this category and asks how far their fortunes will change as … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Will 2014 be the year of the pay-rise? Tuesday 4 February 2014 After a decade of first wage-stagnation and then wage-slump, some analysts think it won’t be long before real earnings begin to rise again. With inflation back on target and GDP expected to rise this month for the fourth successive quarter, they argue that economic recovery will shortly translate into rising productivity, and with it real … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Reflections on the Autumn Statement Friday 6 December 2013 At this private roundtable held the morning after the Autumn Statement, Robert Chote – Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility – set out the OBR’s thinking behind the Economic and fiscal outlook. His presentation was followed by short responses from RIchard Lloyd (Executive Director, Which?), Professor Alison Wolf (King’s College, London) and Peter Kellner … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Stuck on the ground floor or climbing the stairs: Who gets stuck on low pay, who escapes and what makes the difference? Wednesday 27 November 2013 Both low pay and social mobility are recognised as serious concerns in Britain but much less attention has been given to how easy or hard it is for someone to work their way up the earnings scale. Who gets stuck on low pay and who gets on? The Resolution Foundation has conducted a major and … Continued READ MORE
Housing Sharing the spoils: bringing home ownership into reach for low to middle income households Wednesday 20 November 2013 Low to middle income households are increasingly shut out of traditional home ownership, and more and more families with children are living in the private rental sector. We know, however, that home ownership overwhelmingly remains most people’s preferred tenure and the lack of asset accumulation amongst long term renters is a concern. This event launched … Continued READ MORE
Living standards What’s the damage? The impact of the great recession on the jobs market in Britain and America — and the prospects for a recovery Thursday 14 November 2013 With a recovery in GDP now taking hold in the UK, attention is being drawn to the nature of the upturn. Central to this debate will be the outlook for the labour market. As things stand, uncertainty is the order of the day. Will unemployment keep falling as growth takes hold, followed by rising real … Continued READ MORE
