The Prime Minister has denied electioneering over the Pre-Budget Report, saying that benefits and pensions would continue to rise.
Speaking on a visit to King's College Hospital in south London, Gordon Brown said the Government was doing its "duty".
Asked about accusations of electioneering, he said: "Benefits will continue to go up, child benefit and child tax credit, pensions will continue to go up."
And he added: "It's our duty to those people who have served the country all their lives and we are doing our duty."
The Prime Minister hit back after the Conservatives accused Chancellor Alistair Darling of a "pre-election con" in Wednesday's mini-Budget.
Mr Darling announced a 1.5% rise in child benefit and disability benefits which are linked to inflation, due to come into effect next April - just weeks ahead of the expected date of the general election.
He announced he was overriding the normal requirement to link the rise to the rate of inflation the previous September, as this would have led to the benefits being frozen because inflation was negative at that point. But he made no announcement on whether the rise could be sustained after April 2011.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said the figures showed no money had been set aside to pay for benefit hikes to be continued for more than one year. "We have got to stop having a pre-election con where you put benefits up weeks before a general election and cut them afterwards," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
But Mr Darling also denied "electioneering" with the rise, insisting that the benefits would be reviewed again in 12 months' time and the extra cash will not be taken back.
Conservative leader David Cameron later said Labour had "lost all right to govern" because of the measures unveiled in the Pre-Budget Report. Mr Cameron also accused the Government of "irresponsibility, basic deceit and a complete lack of moral principle".
