the benefit cap, introduced via the welfare reform act 2012, set a maximum level for the amount of state welfare benefits that could be paid to an individual household in any one year. the measure came into effect in 2013 with the figure initially set at £26,000 per year, close to the average income of a family in the uk at that time. the anticipated reduction in government expenditure as a result of the measure was £225 million by april 2015. the benefit cap initially affected approximately 12,000 households, mainly in high-rent areas of the uk such as london, but in 2016/17 the limit was reduced to £20,000 per annum (£23,000 in london) extending its effects to around 116,000 households across the uk.