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North Norfolk has the highest spending on pensioner benefits per resident in 2024-25.

State Pension, Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and winter heating payments, with the Scottish benefits that replace them. Per person figures use people aged 66 and over, the State Pension age. Shown in 2026-27 prices, adjusted for inflation so that years can be compared.

Per resident, low to high

Under £1,544
£1,544 to £1,933
£1,933 to £2,322
£2,322 to £2,711
£2,711 to £3,101
£3,101 and over

Estimated value

Spending on pensioner benefits, per resident, 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

Total or per person

Does the order change when you count per person?

Each line is one of the 348 ranked local authorities. It joins the area's rank for each way of counting. The 10 highest per resident are drawn in dark lines.

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. 2026-27 prices.

What changed: State Pension
February 2023	£120.7bn
Population	+£2.5bn
Share claiming	+£5.2bn
Payment size	+£15.0bn
March 2026	£143.4bn

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. 2026-27 prices.

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, 2024-25. Rank is for per resident, 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 for every local authority, 2024-25
Rank					Notes
1	North Norfolk	£423.4m	£4,093	£12,346
2	Rother	£374.8m	£3,906	£12,541
3	East Lindsey	£552.7m	£3,803	£12,715
4	New Forest	£645.5m	£3,671	£12,533
5	Tendring	£570.5m	£3,648	£12,945
6	Dorset	£1.4bn	£3,610	£12,394
7	Isle of Wight	£500.9m	£3,543	£12,315
8	East Devon	£551.2m	£3,489	£12,083
9	Derbyshire Dales	£250.0m	£3,484	£12,551
10	Torridge	£242.3m	£3,476	£12,380
11	Arun	£590.9m	£3,462	£12,520
12	Conwy	£393.4m	£3,438	£12,784
13	East Suffolk	£855.2m	£3,426	£12,409
14	West Devon	£199.7m	£3,393	£12,031
15	Malvern Hills	£282.0m	£3,387	£12,447
16	Fylde	£289.1m	£3,383	£12,268
17	Wyre	£399.4m	£3,375	£12,462
18	Dumfries and Galloway	£491.4m	£3,368	£12,736	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
19	Powys	£449.7m	£3,335	£12,183
20	South Hams	£306.6m	£3,331	£12,151
21	Na h-Eileanan Siar	£86.2m	£3,323	£12,849	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
22	Teignbridge	£458.1m	£3,312	£12,494
23	Chichester	£423.1m	£3,274	£12,421
24	South Ayrshire	£367.5m	£3,274	£12,657	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
25	Isle of Anglesey	£225.5m	£3,274	£12,580
26	Staffordshire Moorlands	£315.3m	£3,267	£12,703
27	Lewes	£332.2m	£3,246	£12,610
28	Torbay	£453.7m	£3,244	£12,452
29	Argyll and Bute	£284.5m	£3,241	£12,374	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
30	Wealden	£538.6m	£3,229	£12,465
31	Cotswold	£296.2m	£3,229	£12,343
32	Castle Point	£288.6m	£3,203	£12,967
33	East Riding of Yorkshire	£1.1bn	£3,197	£12,427
34	Monmouthshire	£302.9m	£3,185	£12,616
35	Northumberland	£1.1bn	£3,178	£12,607
36	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	£494.9m	£3,168	£12,532
37	Scottish Borders	£370.9m	£3,165	£12,258	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
38	Babergh	£306.6m	£3,164	£12,242
39	Herefordshire, County of	£605.7m	£3,154	£12,360
40	Pembrokeshire	£395.2m	£3,145	£12,277
41	Folkestone and Hythe	£350.2m	£3,130	£12,738
42	Westmorland and Furness	£719.2m	£3,129	£12,441
43	Maldon	£215.7m	£3,124	£12,676
44	North Devon	£315.3m	£3,121	£12,400
45	Rutland	£129.1m	£3,120	£12,410
46	South Staffordshire	£355.5m	£3,113	£12,685
47	Ceredigion	£225.5m	£3,100	£12,450
48	Shropshire	£1.0bn	£3,095	£12,313
49	West Lindsey	£305.8m	£3,091	£12,634
50	Wyre Forest	£319.9m	£3,089	£12,717

League table of every local authority for the latest period

Values are per resident unless a column says otherwise. Sources: Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland, Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland.

Every measureThe full list, as plain links

Does the order change when you count per person?

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Is spending higher or lower than expected?

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