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Benefits · Where the money goes · Great Britain · 2024–25

Who receives what, and why has the bill grown?

The State Pension is the largest benefit by far (£136.6bn of £289.3bn DWP spending in 2024–25). Pensioners have received more than half of welfare spending every year since 1978–79; what changed after 2010 was that working-age spending was cut back while pensioner spending kept rising.

Evidence last reviewed 3 October 2026

Spending by benefit, and the need each meets

Which benefits does the money go on?

The State Pension is 47% of DWP benefit spending; Universal Credit 23%

Spending on the largest individual DWP benefits, Great Britain, 2024–25, £ billion, cash terms. The bars are separate benefits and, with the remainder, add up to the £289.3bn Table 1a total.

Great Britain · 2024–25 (outturn)
  • State PensionRetirement£136.6bn
  • Universal CreditLow income, housing, children, unemployment, ill health£66.7bn
  • Personal Independence PaymentExtra costs of disability (working age)£25.9bn
  • Housing BenefitRent (mostly pensioners and remaining legacy cases)£15.5bn
  • Employment and Support AllowanceIllness or disability that limits work£12.3bn
  • Attendance AllowanceExtra costs of disability (pension age)£7.8bn
  • Disability Living AllowanceExtra costs of disability (children; older legacy cases)£7.7bn
  • Pension CreditLow income in retirement£6.0bn
  • Carer's AllowanceCaring£4.2bn
  • All other DWP benefitsJobseeker’s Allowance, Winter Fuel Payments, maternity, bereavement and others£6.6bn
One benefit, the State Pension, accounts for £136.6bn — more than Universal Credit, PIP and Housing Benefit combined. Universal Credit is the second largest and is still growing as people move across from older benefits. Disability-related payments are spread across several lines (PIP, Attendance Allowance, DLA, ESA and the health element of Universal Credit), which is why “disability spending” totals differ depending on what is counted.

Great Britain · 2024–25 (outturn) · Accredited official statistics, outturn

Sources, definitions and data — The State Pension is 47% of DWP benefit spending; Universal Credit 23%
Geography:
Great Britain — DWP benefits only (excludes HMRC Child Benefit and tax credits)
Measure:
£ billion, cash terms
Period:
2024–25 (outturn)
Status:
Accredited official statistics, outturn
Calculation:
As published (£ million ÷ 1,000). “All other DWP benefits” = the Table 1a total minus the nine named benefits (£6.6bn).
Compare with:
Total DWP benefit expenditure £289.3bn
Not included / breaks:
This total (£289.3bn) is smaller than the GB welfare total in BEN-01 (£304.6bn) because it leaves out welfare paid by HMRC — Child Benefit and the last tax credits. Universal Credit covers several needs in one payment (living costs, housing, children, ill health), so it cannot be split by need from this table.

Source: DWP, Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2026 (Spring Forecast 2026), Table 1a, expenditure by benefit (released April 2026). Chart BEN-01b.

View the data as a table
BenefitMain need it meets2024–25 (£bn)Share of total
State PensionRetirement136.647.2%
Universal CreditLow income, housing, children, unemployment, ill health66.723.1%
Personal Independence PaymentExtra costs of disability (working age)25.98.9%
Housing BenefitRent (mostly pensioners and remaining legacy cases)15.55.3%
Employment and Support AllowanceIllness or disability that limits work12.34.3%
Attendance AllowanceExtra costs of disability (pension age)7.82.7%
Disability Living AllowanceExtra costs of disability (children; older legacy cases)7.72.7%
Pension CreditLow income in retirement6.02.1%
Carer's AllowanceCaring4.21.5%
All other DWP benefitsVarious6.62.3%
Total (Table 1a)289.3100%

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

What each part of the system is for
NeedMain benefitsMeans-tested?Paid in work?Note
RetirementState Pension; Pension CreditState Pension no (contributions); Pension Credit yesYesThe largest spending by far.
Extra costs of disabilityPIP (working age); Attendance Allowance (pension age); DLA (children); Adult Disability Payment in ScotlandNoYesNot an income replacement and not linked to work status.
Illness that limits workUniversal Credit health element; New Style ESAUC yes; New Style ESA noSometimesReplaces income; different from PIP.
Low income, children and housingUniversal Credit (standard allowance, child, housing and childcare elements); Housing Benefit; Child Benefit (HMRC)Yes, except Child BenefitYesMost in-work support is here.
CaringCarer's Allowance; Carer Support Payment in ScotlandEarnings limitLimited
UnemploymentUniversal Credit with work-search conditions; New Style JSAUC yes; New Style JSA no (contributions)Low earners can be required to searchA rule category, not the ILO unemployment count.

The needs overlap: one person can receive the State Pension, Attendance Allowance and Pension Credit, or Universal Credit and PIP. That is why spending can be grouped by age or by benefit, but recipient counts cannot be added up into a number of people.

Is the pensioner share rising?

Is the pensioner share of welfare rising?

The pensioner share has stayed between 52% and 56% since 2000

Spending on people over State Pension age as a share of all welfare spending in Great Britain, financial years 1978–79 to 2030–31. Outturn solid; DWP forecasts dashed.

Great Britain · 1978–79 to 2030–31

1996–2030 displayed window · dashed lines show forecasts. Shading marks years outside the displayed record.

Per cent of GB welfare spending40%50%60%axis does not start at 02000201020202030Half of spending55.0%
Pensioners have received more than half of welfare spending in every year shown, from a high of 59% in 1978–79 to a low of 50% in 1995–96. The share rose through the 2010s as working-age benefits were frozen, dipped in 2020–21 when Covid support pushed working-age spending up, and DWP expects it to stay around 55%. The share is steady; both groups' spending is rising in real terms.

Great Britain · 1978–79 to 2030–31 · Accredited official statistics; years after the latest outturn are DWP forecasts (Spring Forecast 2026)

Sources, definitions and data — The pensioner share has stayed between 52% and 56% since 2000
Geography:
Great Britain
Measure:
Per cent of GB welfare spending
Period:
1978–79 to 2030–31
Status:
Accredited official statistics; years after the latest outturn are DWP forecasts (Spring Forecast 2026)
Calculation:
Pensioner spending ÷ total GB welfare spending × 100, from the published cash figures (UK Facts calculation).
Compare with:
50% — above the line, pensioners receive most of the money
Not included / breaks:
The definition of “pensioner” follows State Pension age, which rose for women from 2010 and for everyone from 2018 — moving some people out of the pensioner group. Tax credits (HMRC) are included in working-age spending from 1999.

Source: DWP, Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2026 (Spring Forecast 2026), GB welfare summary table (released April 2026). Chart BEN-03.

View the data as a table
Financial yearPensioner shareStatus
1978–7958.9%Outturn
1979–8057.3%Outturn
1980–8156.9%Outturn
1981–8255.1%Outturn
1982–8354.2%Outturn
1983–8452.7%Outturn
1984–8551.9%Outturn
1985–8652.1%Outturn
1986–8752.3%Outturn
1987–8853.2%Outturn
1988–8955.1%Outturn
1989–9056.5%Outturn
1990–9156.2%Outturn
1991–9253.6%Outturn
1992–9351.5%Outturn
1993–9450.6%Outturn
1994–9550.4%Outturn
1995–9650.2%Outturn
1996–9750.9%Outturn
1997–9852.2%Outturn
1998–9953.1%Outturn
1999–0053.9%Outturn
2000–0154.0%Outturn
2001–0254.6%Outturn
2002–0354.3%Outturn
2003–0451.9%Outturn
2004–0552.4%Outturn
2005–0652.9%Outturn
2006–0752.9%Outturn
2007–0853.3%Outturn
2008–0953.1%Outturn
2009–1051.7%Outturn
2010–1151.8%Outturn
2011–1252.2%Outturn
2012–1353.0%Outturn
2013–1454.3%Outturn
2014–1554.8%Outturn
2015–1655.1%Outturn
2016–1755.6%Outturn
2017–1855.6%Outturn
2018–1956.0%Outturn
2019–2056.0%Outturn
2020–2152.6%Outturn
2021–2253.8%Outturn
2022–2354.3%Outturn
2023–2454.4%Outturn
2024–2554.1%Outturn
2025–2655.1%Forecast
2026–2754.5%Forecast
2027–2854.4%Forecast
2028–2954.4%Forecast
2029–3054.7%Forecast
2030–3155.0%Forecast

Whose benefits have grown since 2010?

From 2010–11 to 2024–25, pensioner spending rose 13% in real terms; working-age and children’s rose 3%

Welfare spending in Great Britain by group, £ billion in 2026/27 prices (GDP deflator), 1995–96 to 2030–31. Outturn solid; DWP forecasts dashed.

Great Britain · 1995–96 to 2030–31

1996–2030 displayed window · dashed lines show forecasts. Shading marks years outside the displayed record.

£ billion, 2026/27 prices£0bn£100bn£200bn2000201020202030£202bn£165bn
Between 2010–11 and 2019–20 working-age and children’s spending fell 11% in real terms — a period that included the benefit freeze, the benefit cap and the two-child limit — while pensioner spending rose 5%. Since 2020 both have risen, including health-related Universal Credit and PIP. More people over 65 and the triple lock raise the pensioner line; rises in State Pension age hold it back. No single cause explains it.

Great Britain · 1995–96 to 2030–31 · Accredited official statistics; forecasts from Spring Forecast 2026

Sources, definitions and data — From 2010–11 to 2024–25, pensioner spending rose 13% in real terms; working-age and children’s rose 3%
Geography:
Great Britain
Measure:
£ billion, 2026/27 prices
Period:
1995–96 to 2030–31
Status:
Accredited official statistics; forecasts from Spring Forecast 2026
Calculation:
As published (GB welfare summary table, real terms). Both lines use the same deflator, so they can be compared directly.
Compare with:
2010–11: pensioners £153.4bn, working age and children £142.6bn
Not included / breaks:
Real terms use the GDP deflator, not consumer prices, so they show the cost to the public finances rather than what recipients can buy. Working-age spending includes HMRC tax credits, so the move into Universal Credit does not inflate it.

Source: DWP, Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2026 (Spring Forecast 2026), Benefit summary table, real terms (2026/27 prices) (released April 2026). Chart BEN-04.

View the data as a table
Financial yearPensioners (£bn, 2026/27 prices)Working age and children (£bn)Status
1995–9692.591.9Outturn
1996–9794.491.1Outturn
1997–9897.889.5Outturn
1998–99100.588.6Outturn
1999–00105.390.3Outturn
2000–01110.594.1Outturn
2001–02116.396.7Outturn
2002–03117.899.3Outturn
2003–04120.5111.6Outturn
2004–05125.4113.9Outturn
2005–06129.3115.1Outturn
2006–07129.8115.6Outturn
2007–08136.0119.1Outturn
2008–09142.4125.8Outturn
2009–10150.3140.2Outturn
2010–11153.4142.6Outturn
2011–12156.0143.1Outturn
2012–13161.7143.4Outturn
2013–14159.6134.6Outturn
2014–15162.2133.9Outturn
2015–16164.1133.6Outturn
2016–17163.0130.2Outturn
2017–18163.2130.1Outturn
2018–19162.5127.8Outturn
2019–20161.2126.8Outturn
2020–21155.7140.4Outturn
2021–22159.1136.4Outturn
2022–23153.6129.2Outturn
2023–24165.3138.5Outturn
2024–25173.7147.1Outturn
2025–26181.2147.9Forecast
2026–27186.8156.0Forecast
2027–28188.2157.9Forecast
2028–29190.3159.5Forecast
2029–30196.0162.3Forecast
2030–31201.5165.0Forecast

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

What drives the bill — competing explanations

Several forces push in different directions, and no single one explains the total:

  • More older people. The number of people aged 65 and over in the UK was around 2.4m higher in 2022 than in 2010 (a UK Facts calculation from ONS population estimates). That raises pension spending directly.
  • Uprating rules. The State Pension has been raised each year by the highest of earnings growth, inflation or 2.5% since 2011, while most working-age benefits were frozen in cash terms from 2016–17 to 2019–20. These are policy choices, not demography.
  • State Pension age. The pension age rose from 60 to 65 for women and then to 66 for everyone, moving people out of the pensioner group; it is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028. This holds the pensioner line down.
  • Health and disability. Since 2020 working-age spending has risen, including health-related Universal Credit and PIP. Why claims have risen is disputed — see disability and extra costs.

So the claim that “the benefits bill is rising because of ageing” is only part true. The pensioner share is the same as in 2000; pensioner and working-age spending have both grown in real terms. Options for changing either — uprating formulas, pension age, take-up, health support — are compared in What would move the needle? and, for pensions, on the State Pension page.

Sources and methods (3)

Method notes

  • GB welfare = DWP benefits plus HMRC Child Benefit, tax credits and Tax-Free Childcare; Table 1a (BEN-01b) is DWP benefits only, which is why its total is smaller.
  • Real terms use the GDP deflator at 2026/27 prices, as published by DWP.
  • Years after the latest outturn are DWP forecasts consistent with the OBR’s Spring Forecast 2026 and are drawn dashed.