What does the Spring Statement mean for me?

The Spring Statement gives an overall update on the economy, public finances and the Government’s economic objectives.

The Spring Statement was delivered on 26 March 2025 by Rachel Reeves. Although there were some new announcements in the Spring Statement, this blog incorporates those and other recent announcements, such as the publication of the Pathways to Work Green Paper and the National Living Wage increases. Find out what this all means for you below.

PIP

According to the Department for Work & Pensions, PIP will now focus on ​‘supporting those with the highest needs through changes to PIP entitlement rules.’ This means that people will need to score at four points or more in at least one of the categories in the daily living section of PIP. Under these new rules, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to lose their current entitlement when their award is reviewed.

If you’re currently receiving PIP, this won’t affect you until you’re due to be reassessed. 

Universal Credit

The Standard Allowance will increase from the 25/26 figure of just over £92 per week, to £106 per week for 29/30 (for a single claimant over 25). 

The Government has also announced changes to the Universal Credit health element. For people already receiving Universal Credit, this payment will remain frozen until 29/30. For new claimants, the health element will be reduced to £50 per week from 26/27 and then frozen until 29/30.

The Government plan to remove Work Capability Assessments in 2028, which is used to see if people are able to work. Instead, there will only be one health and disability functional assessment. This single assessment will be focused on the daily living part of the disability, and not whether someone has capacity to work.

Introduction of ​‘Unemployment Insurance’

Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance will be replaced by a new, non-means tested benefit called ​‘Unemployment Insurance’ designed for people out of work but with a recent work history, and determined by their recent national insurance contributions, although there is no timeline for when this will happen and it’ll be going through consultations.

The Government announced that £1 billion is being dedicated to support people back into work, with £400 million being provided to help Jobcentres get more people into work and deliver the changes.

There’ll be a focus on helping people with disabilities to get into work, and they’ll get one-to-one, personalised support to do this. There’ll also be a ​‘right to try’ scheme for people with disabilities to keep their entitlements if their job doesn’t work for them long-term.

The Spring Statement also included plans to increase opportunities in construction and training which may boost jobs in that sector.

Although this was announced back in October, the Government also increased the National Minimum and National Living Wage from April 1. If you’re on the Living Wage, you’ll get a £1,400 annual boost, and full-time workers on the Minimum Wage might see a £2,500 yearly increase.

The Government used a forecast that predicts that Real Household Disposable Income per capita would increase by 2.6% over this Parliament (Q3 2024 – Q2 2029). Although a household’s disposable income is likely to improve, this is just a forecast and may not represent every household, as bills such as council tax, water and energy are all set to rise from 1 April 2025.

£2 billion will be put into social and affordable housing. Although this is a big boost, the New Economics Foundation say that ten times more social housing a year is needed to meet the housing targets.

Understandably, many people are going to be worried about the Spring Statement announcements. If you or someone you know is going to be affected by these changes, you don’t have to face this on your own.