1. Introduction

The Abstract of DWP benefit rate statistics is an annual release aiming to give users a reference source for benefit uprating. It shows the value of benefits over time compared to prices and earnings.

The main purpose of this methodology document is to provide users with information about the methods used to produce the release in accordance with practices set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

2. Abstract of DWP benefit rate statistics

The abstract contains a statistical summary to describe how benefits rates compare over time and a set of spreadsheet tables where users can compare the value of benefits against prices and earnings in more detail. It is published in the collection of Abstract of DWP benefit rate statistics.

To compare the value of benefit rates over time, the abstract collates relevant benefit rates information with price inflation indices and earnings growth data. All of the source data used by the abstract is already openly available and includes historical data and latest available figures. Benefit rate information comes from DWP. Earnings and inflation data are sourced from Office for National Statistics (ONS).

3. Production

The release is straightforward to produce. Most of its figures come from an Excel based model. Once the latest relevant sources on benefit rates, inflation and earnings are populated, formula are used to present historical rates in a comparable way. Once the model is complete, its outputs are exported to a set of spreadsheet tables where calculations and other links are removed for presentational purposes. The figures are then used to give meaning to narratives in the statistical summary. A statistician will undertake maintenance of the model, and check that sources going in are still the most appropriate. Their work is then checked by another member of the team.

4. How we compare the value of benefits over time

The tables in the abstract provide comparisons of benefit rates over time in relation to price inflation and earnings. The comparisons for price inflation provide two measures to capture relative benefit values at the beginning and the end of each uprating period.

The relative value of the benefit at start of previous uprating periods

This describes the weekly value of historic benefit rates in the prices for the latest period. This answers questions like how much were benefits in 1991 worth in relation to 2021, using the same price values.

Worked example based on the 2021 uprating of benefits

The full rate for Basic State Pension in 1991 was £52.00. How much was that worth in 2021?

To express this rate in April 2021 prices we look at the CPI index at two different time points: April 1991 and April 2021. We then use the increase in CPI over this period as a rating factor and apply that to the original benefit rate for 1991.

Calculating the relative value of the benefit at the end of previous uprating periods

Building from the example above, the relative value of the benefit at the end of the 1991 uprating period can be expressed as follows.

This figure represents the value of the Basic State Pension in 1991 expressed in 2021 prices after we account for the average inflation that occurred during 1991.

How benefits compare to earnings

A third measure provided by the abstract is to look at the value of benefits at each year in relation to earnings. We provide comparable figures for mean and median earnings but view the median earnings as a more reliable representation of what people earn.

Worked example for earnings

In April 2016, the full rate of the new State Pension was £155.65. Median weekly earnings were £538.60.

The new State Pension in relation to earning is therefore expressed as shown in the example.

5. Presentation

A statistical summary provides commentary on the latest findings and key messages. It is accompanied by a set of spreadsheet tables that compare the relative benefit rates over time using latest available pricing and earnings data.

At each release all language, key points, and themes within the abstract are kept consistent as far as possible. Content such as commentary and notations are reviewed at each release basis to provide the most appropriate advice on the interpretation of the figures.

Some presentational aspects may periodically change, for instance when new methods of benefit uprating are implemented. This happened in the 2010 edition when benefits changed to being uprated by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the Rossi or Retail Price Index (RPI).

For the 2022 release we have focussed on improving accessibility in line with changing guidance. We have resolved the challenge of presenting multiple tables on a single worksheet by providing links to each table at the top of the worksheet.

6. Quality Assurance

As previously mentioned, production of the Excel model involves sourcing figures already published by DWP and ONS. Quality assurance checks start with checking that the source information is pertinent, reliable and that it has been applied correctly. As the figures are sourced manually they still need to be quality assured in case of manual error when copying them across to the Excel model.

A range of further quality checks extend to the statistical summary narratives, and the final spreadsheet tables, titles, hyperlinks, font size and so on. In line with Aqua Book principles, all quality check actions are set out and recorded in a log-book, and are checked off once completed to ensure that no steps are missed. Once all of the content is quality assured, products are signed off by a lead statistician.

7. Pre-publication

We pre-announce the release date of this statistical publication at least 28 calendar days in advance, in accordance with release practices set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Find dates of future DWP publications.

In addition to DWP staff who are responsible for the production and quality assurance of the statistics, a limited number of individuals are granted 24 hours pre-release access.

Under the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008 government departments are required to maintain an up-to-date list of the job titles and the organisations of everyone who has pre-release access to statistical releases. For transparency, we publish the pre-release access list.

The Statistical Summary is added to the DWP website at 9:30am on Release Day. The publication has its own landing page which contains the publication itself as well as key information about the contents of the release and the ODS tables. Old versions of the Statistical Summary are archived and still available. See the Abstract of DWP benefit rate statistics collection page.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in June 2013. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007’

8. Publication

The Abstract of DWP benefit rate statistics is released on the website at 09:30am on its release day. The publication has its own landing page which contains a statistical summary and a set of spreadsheet tables (ODS). Its collection page is Abstract of DWP benefit rate statistics.

See Annex D for more information regarding older releases.

Annex A: Limitations and known issues

In the spreadsheet tables the number of weeks between uprating dates is not always the same as the period between reference dates for uprating of the RPI. For example, there were 54 weeks between the November 1979 and November 1980 upratings compared with 53 weeks between the RPI reference dates. No correction has been applied to allow for this difference.

Average earnings figures for the period prior to 1997 are taken from the New Earnings Survey (NES) estimates of earnings for all adults. No comparisons are available before the NES began in 1970.

Average earnings figures from 1997 onwards are taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) which replaced the New Earnings Survey (NES) in 2004. No ASHE figures are to be released prior to 1992.

Average earnings for months other than April use the figure for April of the same year.

Annex B: Conventions

Abbreviation	Meaning
£pw	Pounds per week
ASHE	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings
BSP	Basic State Pension
ChB	Child Benefit
CPI	Consumer Prices Index
DWP	Department for Work and Pensions
ESA	Employment and Support Allowance
IB	Incapacity Benefit
IS	Income Support
IVB	Invalidity Benefit
JSA	Jobseeker’s Allowance
NES	New Earnings Survey
nSP	New State Pension
PC	Pension Credit
RPI	Retail Prices Index
SB	Sickness Benefit
SERPS	State Earnings Related Pension Scheme
SoS	Secretary of State
UB	Unemployment Benefit
UC	Universal Credit
WB	Widow’s Benefit
WP	Widow’s Pension
WPA	Widowed Parent’s Allowance

Annex C: Price and Earnings Indices used in the Abstract of DWP benefit rate statistics

The Abstract contains a lot of historical data and covers methodological changes in uprating over a long period of time. The method of uprating benefits is decided by the government of the day.

Major changes in uprating methods

Over time, there have been various changes to the components of the indices that have been used to uprate benefits. The major changes are detailed below:

• in 1974 long-term benefits such as pensions and long-term sick and disabled benefits were linked to the higher of one of two annual increases, as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) and the Average Earnings Index
• in 1976 a forecast was used to estimate the movements in price inflation and earnings growth
• long-term benefits were linked to the prices index only in 1979
• a historical basis was used to calculate the price increases in 1983. Rossi was introduced in 1983, calculated as RPI (all items) less housing costs, to uprate income-related benefits. The Rossi index was named after the government minister Sir Hugh Rossi
• in 1992 the definition of Rossi changed to New Rossi which is calculated as RPI (all items) less rent, local taxes and mortgage interest payments. The Rossi Index is defined as the RPI with all items except housing costs. It was used by DWP for the up-rating of income-related benefits between November 1983 and 1991. Housing costs were defined as mortgage interest, dwelling insurance and ground rent, local taxes, water charges, repairs and maintenance and DIY materials for repairs and decorations. The items excluded accounted for 7% of the items in the RPI
• since the up-rating of April 1992 until April 2010, a revised version of the Rossi index (New Rossi) was used to uprate income-related benefits. The index is composed of the RPI (all items), excluding rents, local taxes and mortgage interest payments. The New Rossi series was discontinued in January 2017. Therefore, comparative data using the New Rossi is no longer presented in this publication. For further information, see the Clarification of publication arrangements for the Retail Prices Index and related indices from ONS
• between 1983 and 2010, benefits were uprated in relation to the RPI, Rossi or New Rossi. The actual increase in particular benefits depends on the index applied and on policy decisions as to the appropriate rate for the benefit
• in 2010 the Chancellor announced that from April 2011 most DWP administered benefits would be uprated in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Also, the government reiterated previous commitments to restore the link between earnings and the up-rating of the basic State Pension. While most benefits were uprated in line with CPI in April 2011, basic State Pension was exceptionally uprated in line with RPI. Please see the 2011 Benefit Uprating briefing report for more information
• from April 2011, the government introduced a ‘Triple Lock’ guarantee: that the basic State Pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings, price inflation or 2.5%. The earnings measure used by the Triple Lock calculation is Average Weekly Earnings (AWE)
• the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021 introduced an amendment to suspend the earnings element of the ‘Triple Lock’ for 2022. This was due to exceptional earnings growth (8.3%) following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Consequently, the State Pension was uprated by the higher of CPI inflation growth or 2.5% at April 2022
• in April 2023, although the earnings element of the Triple Lock was reintroduced, State Pension was uprated in line with CPI of 10.1%. This is because CPI at September 2022 was higher than the annual increase to average weekly earnings, which was down to 5.5% in July 2022 from 8.3% in July 2021

Annex D: Revisions

In 2020 we replaced PDF based statistical summaries with HTML (webpage) versions. This enabled us to comply with any legal obligations to make all content fully accessible. The text is now more accessible across a range of different devices.

The 2018 edition underwent moderate methodological changes in order to provide more accurate comparisons between the values of benefits, prices and earnings. Coupled with this, some of the headings were altered in order to provide a clearer explanation of the data being represented. To keep the publication in line with the methodology used by the ONS, we publish median average weekly earnings in addition to mean average weekly earnings in the spreadsheet tables. For the purpose of comparison, the benefit rates as a percentage of both mean and median average earnings have been provided in this publication.

Changes and improvements in methodology made to the 2017 edition meant that previous editions were longer directly comparable. We removed previous publications from the abstract collection page but they are available on request. For more information, please email benefits.statistics@dwp.gov.uk