Impact of disability benefit changes on disabled women

A new report by the Women's Budget Group and Sisters of Frida has revealed the devastating impact proposed changes to disability benefits will have for disabled women across the UK. The report highlights how many individuals could lose crucial financial support, leaving them struggling to afford basic needs and essential living costs.

Charities and advocacy groups warn that these cuts will deepen inequality and push already vulnerable people further into hardship. The report calls for the government to develop policy in full collaboration with disabled people and with employers, from

(co-)design to implementation and monitoring.

Download the full report or read the Executive Summary below

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The gendered impact of the changes to disability benefits announced in

March 2025

Women are the majority (56%) of Disabled people in the UK: 27% of women (9.3

million) are disabled (compared to 22% or 7.4 million men)

In their Pathways to Work Green Paper and Spring Statement in March 2025 the

Government announced significant changes to disability and sickness benefits that

will hit women disproportionately.

This briefing by the Women’s Budget Group and Sisters of Frida focuses on the

economic and social circumstances of Disabled women and the impact of these

social security changes, based on policy analysis and what Disabled women have told

us:

Removing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from claimants who don’t

score at least 4 points in at least one activity of daily living will lead to unfair

cuts:

considerable limitations to daily life do not score 4 points (e.g. needing help to

wash or dress below the waist, needing prompts to undertake basic life activities,

needing 3.5 hours of therapy per week). 52% of female PIP claimants don’t score 4

points in any one activity compared to 39% of male claimants.

it ignores the compounding effects of multiple moderate impairments. Certain

impairments like arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, which are more common in

women, will not meet the new eligibility rules so women with life-limiting conditions

will be excluded.

PIP is a gateway for other benefits: like Council Tax Reduction or Carer’s Allowance.

150,000 CA claimants will be affected by the change (72% of CA claimants are

women)

Loss of individual non-means-tested income: PIP is a benefit paid to a Disabled

person regardless of work status, family circumstances, income or savings. Cutting it means women may lose a lifeline and make them more vulnerable to domestic

abuse.

Freezing of Universal Credit ‘health’ element and halving it for new claimants

will not be offset by an increase to the standard allowance:

The standard allowance, that all recipients of UC get, will increase above inflation,

which is a welcome recognition of its current inadequacy. However, this will not

offset the cuts to the health element for Disabled people receiving UC: new

applicants will be £2,500 per year worse off than if these changes were not enacted

and current claimants will still lose out.

Abolishing the Work Capability Assessment from 2028 might mean some

Disabled women losing over £8,800 per year:

In new system, as it stands, eligibility to the UC ‘health’ element will be conditional

on someone receiving PIP. But as PIP eligibility becomes stricter, so will eligibility for

the UC health element. Someone losing both benefits would lose over £8,800 per

year (2025 rates), which might be up to 60% of their income (if only income is PIP

and UC).

The ‘Right to Try’ work and other employment support will not mitigate the

benefit cuts:

Any additional employment support will likely only benefit tens of thousands of

people while cuts will affect 3.2 million families. Moreover, it remains to be seen

whether people feel they can trust the system enough to make use of this right and

support.

Loss of income for Disabled women is likely to have higher costs to state and

society

Cutting benefits will remove the ability for many Disabled women to work as they will

not be able to afford adaptations (e.g. private transport, therapies to manage pain or

mobility) that enables them to work. Losing income will mean a loss of quality of life;

as many women told us, their health will worsen if they cannot afford pain

management, accessible transport to work, socialise and care for others. This will

translate into higher costs and pressure on the NHS, adult social care and local

government.

Cuts to disability benefits that disproportionately affect women will have a negative

impact on other government commitments like tackling child poverty and violence against women and girls.

The economic and social context for Disabled women

Women will be hit harder by the benefit changes not just because they are the

majority of Disabled people but also due to the disadvantaged economic and social

circumstances Disabled women face:

Disabled women face significant barriers in the job market, leading to lower

earnings

Disabled women:

have a similar rate of employment as Disabled men (54%) but less likely to be

employed than non-disabled women (71.8%).

earn on average £7,300 per year less than non-disabled men.
are more likely to be in low pay than Disabled men (19% and 13%

respectively) and non-disabled men (9%).

Disabled people face higher costs for a similar standard of living

Disabled people face an average of £1,010 extra costs per month, including higher

healthcare and medical costs, mobility, transport, and adaptability costs, higher

housing costs (including energy and water bills), and the cost of care. Disabled

women often have specific costs related to caring for others, including childcare

costs.

Disabled people are more likely to live in poverty

With worse labour market outcomes and higher costs Disabled people are more

likely to experience poverty. Around 23% of Disabled people are living in poverty

after housing costs, compared to 20% of non-Disabled people.

Poverty outcomes are worse for women living in council housing, single mothers and

Black, Bangladeshi or Pakistani women.

Social security provides protection from poverty, despite challenges in access

and current insufficient rates

Social security is a lifeline for many Disabled women. Women make up the majority

of claimants (54%) of both benefits that are being cut/restricted:

Personal Independence Payment (a benefit to help with extra costs regardless

of work status)

UC ‘health’ element (low-income benefit for people with little or no capacity

to work).

Disabled women are at double the risk of VAWG as non-disabled women

Disabled women experience domestic abuse at over twice the rate of non-disabled

women (12.7% in the last year compared to 5.1%). For Disabled women it can be

harder to leave an abusive relationship: sometimes the abuser is also the caregiver.

The type of violence suffered is often related to their condition, including the

withholding of medicine and food, or non-provision of help for other personal

needs and it often involves financial coercion, including withholding and/or control

of disability benefits.

Availability of accessible accommodation is also crucial in Disabled women’s decision

to leave an abusive relationship.

Women from minority-ethnic groups are at a higher risk of violence, while facing

additional barriers in reporting to the police. This is particularly true for women from

a mixed ethnic group (7.1%) and Black Caribbean women (7.7%), compared to White

women (5%)17.