Joseph Rowntree Foundation have sought to understand why so many carers face financial hardship and look at how this can be addressed.
Using data from the Understanding Society survey,1 this report investigates the dynamics of poverty among unpaid carers between 2011 and 2012, and 2019 and 2020.
We find that:
- Unpaid carers transition into poverty at a higher rate than adults overall, and exit poverty at a lower rate once there. For both unpaid child-carers and unpaid social-carers, poverty entry rates are particularly high among new carers, and higher still among those who became a carer unexpectedly, for these carers, the risk of entering poverty is twice as high as it is for the adult population as a whole, at 12% compared to 6%.
- Unpaid carers transition out of poverty at a lower rate than adults overall, and exit rates once there are slightly lower still for new carers.
- Unpaid carers are more likely to re-enter poverty after they exit, and more likely to remain in poverty after they enter, than adults overall. New unpaid child-carers, particularly those who became carers unexpectedly, have even higher persistence rates, while new unpaid social-carers have higher recurrence rates.
- Examining the factors that push unpaid carers into poverty, labour-market events like moving out of paid work or experiencing a reduction in household earnings account for the majority of transitions into poverty among unpaid child-carers, coinciding with around two-thirds of poverty entries. Falls in benefit income are also significant, although less so for new child-carers, for whom (unsurprisingly) an increase in the number of children, and so a higher number of mouths to feed, is the single most significant event.
- Meanwhile, among unpaid social-carers, falls in income from benefits like Universal Credit account for the majority of poverty entries. However, labour-market events are also significant (particularly among unpaid social-carers who were previously in paid work, for whom the carer exiting paid work is the single most significant event), as are reductions in other household income.
- Labour-market events are less common triggers for pulling unpaid social carers out of poverty.
To address the link between poverty and caring, we need to better understand what’s driving the hardship that carers face. Given events in the labour market and falls in benefit income are key drivers, we need a new deal for carers. This should help carers juggle work and care, through flexible working support and paid care leave.
Reforms to the benefits system must provide a solid safety net and recognition of the difficult, skilled and life-saving work that carers contribute to society day in, day out, that prevents them doing paid work.