Time-limited in-work credits are cheaper, and more targeted, than conventional in-work credits, but are thought to have small to zero long-term impacts. We study two time-limited in-work credits introduced in the mid-2000s in the UK and find they reduced welfare participation and increased...

The aim of this report, the IFS's first in-depth analysis of the Scottish Government Budget, is to look at some of the key implications for the coming year, and for the longer term. We do not attempt to cover all of the different services that the Scottish Government is responsible for, or all...

In January 2020, the UK government formally announced its intention to create a number of Freeports across the UK, with the aim of promoting job creation and regeneration, boosting trade, investment and innovation, and supporting the 'levelling up' agenda. The Freeports offer various tax and...

The recent surge in inflation, driven by spectacular increases in energy prices, has driven sharp falls in household living standards, huge government intervention to try to mitigate it, and serious policy headaches. As such it continues to be the backdrop behind many of the most pressing issues...

This report is designed to provide new evidence on retirement patterns in the UK, as part of the Pensions Review, a larger project run by the IFS in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, which is examining the future of financial security in retirement. Understanding patterns of...

The reason why both earnings growth and inflation matter for the state pension is the pensions 'triple lock'. In place since 2011 (except for a one-year temporary suspension in 2022), under the triple lock the state pension rises in line with the highest of CPI inflation, average earnings growth...

The UK government is part-way through significant cuts in spending on public services as it attempts to deal with the large hole in the UK's public finances. As part of this, grants from the UK Treasury to the Welsh Government have been reduced in real terms each year since 2009-10, and the...