The independence debate would, arguably, have been very different if it had not taken place against a backdrop of billions of pounds' worth of welfare cuts.

The coalition at Westminster has argued that the changes in the past few years are necessary to free recipients from a life "trapped" on benefits.

But the cuts have seen pro- and anti-independence campaigners open up new fronts to try to appeal to less-affluent voters and those who accuse the coalition of cruelty to the less well-off.

Q What will happen to benefits in an independent Scotland?

A The White Paper says that benefits to which people are entitled will continue to be paid "in the same way as they are now", although it adds that a future Scottish Government can choose to do things differently.

The document also says that a Scottish government after independence would be able to use welfare powers to create a system that "helps people into work and protects the vulnerable".

Among the pledges it goes on to make are to abolish the "bedroom tax" within the first year of the independent Scottish parliament, which would be set up sometime in 2016-17.

The further roll-out of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments in Scotland would also be halted.

Q How would this be paid for?

A The SNP has predicted an economic upturn in Scotland after powers are moved from London to Edinburgh.

Q How will benefits be administered?

A The SNP's White Paper talks of a "transitional period" after independence. This "transitional period" would involve the UK government agreeing to allow Scotland to use its existing infrastructure, for an as-yet-undefined period of time.

Q What will happen to pensions?

A The SNP has suggested that Scots are being short-changed through their state pensions, by up to £30,000 in some cases, because they die sooner than pensioners from other parts of the UK. The SNP has floated the suggestion that after independence, pensions could rise.

But pro-union campaigners say that an independent Scotland would struggle to pay the bills when its population is aging faster than that in other parts of the UK.

Another issue in the debate has been the money that Scots have already paid into the UK system.

Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat pensions minister at Westminster, has said that people with "accumulated rights" in an independent Scotland will still be eligible for a pensions system that they have paid into.

But he also warned that the average worker would have to pay an extra £200 a year to fund the pension plans contained in Scottish ministers' White Paper.

"No" campaigners Better Together say that the SNP's claims do not add up.

The independent Pensions Policy Institute has said an independent Scotland would find it harder than the UK to afford the state pension in its current make-up.

And the institute predicted that Scottish ministers could have to raise taxes or cut spending to make up the difference.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has also sounded a warning about the affordability of pensions in an independent Scotland.

Q What are the pro-union parties offering?

A Labour leader Ed Miliband has pledged that a Labour government at Westminster in 2015 would scrap the "bedroom tax".

Since the SNP does not plan to declare independence until 2016, Labour could abolish first the deduction on housing benefit for those with a spare bedroom.

In recent months, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has also said that his party no longer supports the "bedroom tax" when there is nowhere for people to move to.

But the Conservatives insist that the measure is needed.

They say it will free up extra housing and eradicate an anomaly with the private rented sector.

Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has suggested that billions of pounds' worth of extra welfare cuts may be needed after next year's general election.