How does my area compare?

Islington is furthest above the expected level of spending on pensioner benefits per person aged 66 and over in 2024-25.

Actual spending per person aged 66 and over minus the level we would expect from the area's ages, deprivation, typical pay and nation. A figure above zero is above the expected level, and a figure below zero is below it. Shown in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

Below the expected level, then above it

Under −£452
−£452 to −£323
−£323 to −£194
−£194 to −£65
−£65 to £65
£65 to £194
£194 to £323
£323 to £452
£452 and over

Estimated value
No value

Spending on pensioner benefits, compared with the expected level, per person aged 66 and over, 2024-25, by local authority. Boundaries are simplified. London is also shown larger, in a separate box. Northern Ireland is not covered. Every value is in the table below.

More ways to look at itHow ranks change, why spending changed, and spending compared with the expected level

What changed

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Great Britain, State Pension: yearly spending at the rate in February 2023 and in March 2026. The chart splits the change into three parts: the number of people in the age group, the share of them claiming, and the average payment. Cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

What changed: State Pension
February 2023	£104.6bn
Population	+£2.3bn
Share claiming	+£4.8bn
Payment size	+£28.8bn
March 2026	£140.6bn

The share claiming is the number of people claiming per person aged 66 and over. Yearly spending here is the number claiming, times the average weekly payment, times 52. It is not the amount paid out over the year. Population after mid-2024 stays at the mid-2024 figure, so later growth shows in the share claiming.

Compared with similar areas

Is spending higher or lower than expected?

Spending on pensioner benefits per person aged 66 and over, 2024-25. We compare it with the level we would expect from each area's share of children and of people aged 66 and over, how deprived it is compared with the rest of its nation, and the typical pay of people who live there. Cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

Expected level = £12,909 + £3,353 × share aged 0 to 15 − £1,419 × share aged 66 and over − £40 × deprivation decile − £91 × ln(median pay) + £207 × Wales + £80 × Scotland. Fitted by ordinary least squares across 346 local authorities. R² = 0.35. Gold dots are above the expected level and grey dots are below it.

Every local authority

Spending on pensioner benefits, compared with the expected level, 2024-25. Rank is for per person aged 66 and over, and 1 is the highest. Areas with fewer than 1,000 people in the age group have no rank. The first 50 of 350 rows are shown.

Spending on pensioner benefits, compared with the expected level for every local authority, 2024-25
Rank			Notes
1	Islington	£1,032	Estimated
2	Glasgow City	£912	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
3	Hartlepool	£795	Estimated
4	Hackney	£676	Estimated
5	Broxbourne	£652	Estimated
6	Liverpool	£627	Estimated
7	North Lanarkshire	£603	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
8	Knowsley	£544	Estimated
9	West Dunbartonshire	£469	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
10	Rochford	£461	Estimated
11	Tower Hamlets	£452	Estimated
12	Lambeth	£428	Estimated
13	Redditch	£425	Estimated
14	Blaby	£414	Estimated
15	Hinckley and Bosworth	£402	Estimated
16	South Tyneside	£398	Estimated
17	Southwark	£369	Estimated
18	Castle Point	£363	Estimated
19	South Lanarkshire	£362	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
20	East Hertfordshire	£342	Estimated
21	Three Rivers	£328	Estimated
22	Basildon	£318	Estimated
23	Broxtowe	£298	Estimated
24	St. Helens	£291	Estimated
25	Charnwood	£288	Estimated
26	Salford	£288	Estimated
27	Halton	£281	Estimated
28	Gateshead	£279	Estimated
29	Swansea	£278	Estimated
30	Caerphilly	£277	Estimated
31	Camden	£276	Estimated
32	Newcastle-under-Lyme	£270	Estimated
33	Dudley	£264	Estimated
34	Tamworth	£263	Estimated
35	Bromley	£262	Estimated
36	Welwyn Hatfield	£258	Estimated
37	Stockport	£257	Estimated
38	Brentwood	£256	Estimated
39	Tonbridge and Malling	£255	Estimated
40	St Albans	£255	Estimated
41	Chelmsford	£254	Estimated
42	Erewash	£252	Estimated
43	Sunderland	£250	Estimated
44	Gravesham	£248	Estimated
45	Harlow	£241	Estimated
46	Vale of Glamorgan	£231	Estimated
47	Tendring	£231	Estimated
48	Bristol, City of	£223	Estimated
49	Staffordshire Moorlands	£220	Estimated
50	High Peak	£219	Estimated

League table of every local authority for the latest period

Values are per person aged 66 and over unless a column says otherwise. Sources: Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland, Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Welsh Government, Scottish Government.

Every measureThe full list, as plain links

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Is spending higher or lower than expected?

Every local authority

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