![](http://www.torbayadvicenetwork.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Debt-management-plan-1200x800.jpg)
Spending on social security as a share of GDP has risen slightly since the financial crisis, but the system in Great Britain has undergone profound change over the same time. Large-scale structural reforms have fundamentally altered the system’s rules for working-age families, while working-age benefits have been both cut back and then not fully indexed in line with inflation. In contrast, support for pensioners has been not just protected but bolstered.