Our social security lifeline. Is it strong enough?

Summary

In a national crisis or ‘normal times’, people need our social security system to be a reliable lifeline - but it's failing to protect families, or give them the stability needed to escape poverty.

Our social security system should protect families from harm, keeping their heads above water, but families' different circumstances can make it complicated to get a complete picture of how well social security does this. This briefing pulls a range of indicators together to assess the adequacy more clearly: