The Family Allowances Act of 1946 provided weekly payments to mothers with two or more children to help families struggling financially, especially those where fathers had died in war. However, it did not help families with only one child and payments stopped at age 18. The National Insurance Act of 1946 built on previous acts to provide benefits like sickness, unemployment, old age pensions and other benefits by requiring weekly contributions from working-age people. However, the poorest still struggled to pay and the National Assistance Act of 1948 provided additional financial help for these individuals. Studies in York in 1936 and 1950 showed poverty levels falling from 36% to only 2% due to these welfare programs but benefits did not always keep up with inflation.