How does my area compare?

Christchurch has the highest spending on pensioner benefits per resident in 2023-24.

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 £1,399
£1,399 to £1,820
£1,820 to £2,241
£2,241 to £2,663
£2,663 to £3,084
£3,084 and over

Estimated value

Spending on pensioner benefits, per resident, 2023-24, by constituency. 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 631 ranked constituencies. 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	+£2.3bn
Share claiming	+£5.4bn
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 = £15,304 − £852 × share aged 0 to 15 − £3,208 × share aged 66 and over − £44 × deprivation decile − £206 × ln(median pay) + £186 × Wales + £65 × Scotland. Fitted by ordinary least squares across 625 constituencies. R² = 0.39. Gold dots are above the expected level and grey dots are below it.

Every constituency

Spending on pensioner benefits, 2023-24. 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 632 rows are shown.

Spending on pensioner benefits for every constituency, 2023-24
Rank					Notes
1	Christchurch	£369.8m	£4,198	£12,453
2	North Norfolk	£356.0m	£4,089	£12,265
3	New Forest West	£343.4m	£4,056	£12,386
4	Clacton	£398.1m	£3,915	£12,930
5	Bexhill and Battle	£351.2m	£3,845	£12,507
6	West Dorset	£362.6m	£3,801	£12,135
7	Isle of Wight East	£258.5m	£3,725	£12,265
8	Honiton and Sidmouth	£344.2m	£3,704	£12,045
9	Louth and Horncastle	£364.2m	£3,697	£12,592
10	South Shropshire	£346.2m	£3,598	£12,193
11	Suffolk Coastal	£338.6m	£3,584	£12,305
12	Bridlington and The Wolds	£334.3m	£3,546	£12,264
13	South Devon	£321.9m	£3,510	£12,142
14	Waveney Valley	£316.9m	£3,502	£12,309
15	Arundel and South Downs	£343.5m	£3,486	£12,383
16	North Northumberland	£325.6m	£3,482	£12,245
17	Wirral West	£306.1m	£3,440	£12,584
18	Sefton Central	£318.2m	£3,437	£12,909
19	North Herefordshire	£315.4m	£3,427	£12,184
20	Lewes	£329.6m	£3,415	£12,513
21	West Worcestershire	£344.0m	£3,410	£12,481
22	Tiverton and Minehead	£316.2m	£3,410	£12,232
23	Torridge and Tavistock	£330.1m	£3,382	£12,129
24	Thirsk and Malton	£329.9m	£3,339	£12,359
25	Fylde	£333.4m	£3,339	£12,230
26	Bognor Regis and Littlehampton	£357.2m	£3,297	£12,541
27	Herne Bay and Sandwich	£333.5m	£3,296	£12,488
28	Westmorland and Lonsdale	£300.7m	£3,291	£12,194
29	Kingswinford and South Staffordshire	£297.1m	£3,290	£12,757
30	South East Cornwall	£304.3m	£3,285	£11,958
31	St Ives	£292.4m	£3,271	£12,069
32	Beverley and Holderness	£296.4m	£3,261	£12,509
33	Newton Abbot	£307.6m	£3,260	£12,512
34	South Dorset	£322.5m	£3,257	£12,213
35	Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe	£299.9m	£3,250	£12,223
36	Skipton and Ripon	£323.5m	£3,248	£12,228
37	North Dorset	£309.4m	£3,246	£12,367
38	Na h-Eileanan an Iar	£84.2m	£3,240	£12,641	Shared out, Estimated
39	Dumfries and Galloway	£311.1m	£3,234	£12,531	Shared out, Estimated
40	Hexham	£306.7m	£3,223	£12,262
41	Isle of Wight West	£231.5m	£3,220	£12,245
42	Mid Dorset and North Poole	£312.4m	£3,218	£12,596
43	Morecambe and Lunesdale	£319.5m	£3,214	£12,629
44	Chichester	£345.9m	£3,207	£12,531
45	Lowestoft	£304.4m	£3,201	£12,590
46	Worthing West	£323.9m	£3,198	£12,364
47	Staffordshire Moorlands	£272.0m	£3,186	£12,577
48	Blackpool North and Fleetwood	£308.6m	£3,184	£12,552
49	Ynys Môn	£220.2m	£3,180	£12,399
50	Wells and Mendip Hills	£290.9m	£3,175	£12,284

League table of every constituency 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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