Lone-parent incomes and work incentives

New ESRI research examines the impact of changes made to social welfare policy between 2011 and 2018, which removed entitlement for lone parents with a child over 7 to the One Parent Family Payment and reduced the “earnings disregard”, the amount a lone parent can earn before their payment is reduced. The changes also made lone parent payments for those with children above 7 dependent on an individual’s engagement with job search and training services.