‘Acceptable’ living standard is out of reach for many in UK

Experts call for “bold policy decisions” to be made if Labour are to deliver on their ambitions to make sure incomes are sufficient to meet the rising cost of living

Many UK households are falling short of what they need for a minimum socially acceptable standard of living – even when working full-time – according to new research.

The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) 2025 report reveals that, despite increases to the National Living Wage (NLW) and a stabilisation of inflation compared with the peaks of 2022–23, incomes from work and benefits are still not enough to provide what’s needed to live in a way that ‘enables the opportunities and choices necessary to participate in society.’

Academics from Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) carried out the research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). The research found that a single person now needs to earn £30,500 a year to reach MIS in 2025, while a couple with two children, aged three and seven, needs £74,000 a year between them.

The findings show that:

• A couple with two children where one parent works full-time on the NLW and the other is not working, reaches just 66% of MIS
• A single working-age adult working full-time on the NLW reaches 76% of MIS, compared with 77% in 2024
• Lone parents fare worst, reaching 69% of MIS even when working full-time on the NLW

The research shows that working-age couples without children, both in full-time work on the NLW, are the only household type included in the analysis whose income is sufficient to reach MIS.

“It is clear that many people on low-to-middle incomes are still struggling to reach a minimum standard of living…”

Dr Juliet Stone, lead author and Research Fellow at CRSP, said: “Despite the Labour government’s stated commitment to improving living standards, there has been no change in the extent to which minimum wages and benefits provide enough for households to reach MIS.

“It is clear that many people on low-to-middle incomes are still struggling to reach a minimum standard of living, and bold policy decisions are needed if Labour are to deliver on their ambitions to make sure incomes are sufficient to meet the rising cost of living.”

Jonathan Bradshaw, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of York, cited the previous government’s failure to increase in-work cash benefits in line with inflation, as well as the introduction of the two-child limit, benefit cap, and reduced council tax benefits, as key causes of many households falling short.

He added that not enough has been done under the new government, yet the findings come amid the government’s pledge to ‘raise living standards in every part of the UK’.

The June 2025 Spending Review included £39bn for affordable and social housing in England between 2026–2036 and an expansion of Free School Meals to all children in households on Universal Credit from September 2026.

But the researchers caution that these measures will have a delayed impact and are unlikely to bridge the gap without further policies to boost incomes.

Professor Matt Padley, co-author and Co-director of CRSP, said the government needs to do “much more” to boost incomes and tackle rising costs.

“Without this, we’re going to see more and more people going without what the public agrees everyone needs to live in dignity. This is just not acceptable in 2025 and we need to see real action, not just words, from government.”

The report’s authors have called for urgent action, such as increasing the real value of working-age benefits; supporting wage growth beyond the NLW and reducing essential costs such as housing and childcare.