How social security works : an introduction to benefits in Britain / Paul Spicker.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part one: Introductory principles: What is social security?; Social security and the welfare state; Social security and society; Part two: The development of the system: The origins of social security in the UK; The politics of socia security; A unified system?; Part three: Benefits: National Insurance; Means tested benefits I: the basic minimum; Means testing II: income supplements; Th provision of non-contributory benefits; Discretionary benefits; Universal benefits; Claiming benefits; Understanding complexity; Part four: The principa contingencies: Pensioners; Benefits for people with disabilities; Incapacity; Children and families; Lone parents; Unemployed people; Benefits for the poor; Part five: Issues in social security policy: The cost of social security; Targeting; Fraud and abuse; Responding to poverty; Social security and redistribution; How social security in Britain compares to other countries.

How social security works is an introduction to the much-misunderstood system of benefits in Britain. The book is an accessible, broadly based and sometimes controversial text which can help readers to make sense of the system in practice. It explains the guiding principles, outlines the social context, considers the development and political dimensions of benefits, and reviews how the system operates now. There are detailed discussions of the types of benefit, and the contingencies covered by the benefits system.Paul Spicker examines whether the system offers value for money, how it could be simplified and how it can be improved. The book will be useful to students on undergraduate and professional courses, but beyond that it will appeal to policy makers, practitioners and a broader general readership.