140,000 claimants top average wage

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The households are pocketing more than £20,000 in handouts every year, according to official estimates.

The scale of the payments is likely to anger millions of families struggling to cope with the fallout from the economic downturn.

The average salary before tax is just over £25,000, but after deductions that sum shrinks to just over £19,000. In contrast, benefits are tax-free.

Employment minister Tony McNulty insisted the 140,000 represented just 1% of households with at least one person of working age. He said: "The benefits being received by these households will, in the majority of cases, include disability-related benefits and premiums."

But shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling, who obtained the information using parliamentary questions, said the number was still "an awful lot". Many families would be receiving tens of thousands of pounds in housing benefit alone, he added.

Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell announced radical plans this month to get millions off benefits and into work, including reforming incapacity benefit and forcing lone parents to seek employment.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "These families are a tiny minority and in almost all cases the money includes extra support for the most severely disabled. Our welfare reforms are about ensuring almost everyone will have to do something for their benefits, but we are not going to apologise for supporting those disabled people who need help most."

A spokesman for Mr Purnell accused Mr Grayling of "posturing" over welfare.

"The Tories are happy for drug addicts to get benefits with no questions asked and have opposed our plans to ask workless parents to take active steps to prepare for work in return for financial support, but now seem to be saying they don't think families struggling to cope with a disability should get real help," he said. "It's time Chris Grayling got serious on welfare reform and, instead of posturing, backed our proposals to ask more from those who receive benefits."