UK benefit claimant numbers by benefit
Department for Work and Pensions statistics from Stat-Xplore on the number of people receiving each of the main working-age, disability and pensioner benefits apart from Universal Credit, quarterly since 1999, 2002 or the benefit's launch: State Pension, Pension Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance (cases with entitlement and cases in payment), Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit.
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | Q4-2023 | Q3-2023 | Q2-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pensioner benefits3 | ||||||||||||||
| State Pension | 13,307,794 | 13,253,050 | 13,211,873 | 13,116,578 | 13,051,420 | 13,013,507 | 12,969,306 | 12,913,697 | 12,837,592 | 12,805,367 | 12,765,867 | 12,693,552 | ||
| Pension Credit | 1,381,723 | 1,388,945 | 1,389,900 | 1,391,075 | 1,395,930 | 1,391,728 | 1,360,660 | 1,355,264 | 1,359,976 | 1,369,094 | 1,375,280 | 1,377,104 | ||
| Attendance Allowance | 1,704,685 | 1,694,012 | 1,730,608 | 1,749,547 | 1,735,589 | 1,710,066 | 1,672,590 | 1,633,881 | 1,608,134 | 1,571,519 | 1,525,421 | 1,489,360 | ||
| Disability and carers' benefits4 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal Independence Payment (PIP) | 4,060,635 | 3,981,363 | 3,904,335 | 3,861,494 | 3,799,623 | 3,725,039 | 3,679,427 | 3,644,267 | 3,577,576 | 3,530,971 | 3,478,524 | 3,411,320 | 3,328,337 | |
| Disability Living Allowance (DLA) | 1,396,787 | 1,387,882 | 1,401,236 | 1,409,787 | 1,382,803 | 1,364,864 | 1,354,540 | 1,340,188 | 1,329,147 | 1,320,490 | 1,310,289 | 1,285,609 | ||
| Carer's Allowance, cases with entitlement | 1,408,942 | 1,391,655 | 1,377,584 | 1,366,373 | 1,382,682 | 1,431,104 | 1,438,886 | 1,430,305 | 1,410,070 | 1,387,387 | 1,376,991 | 1,362,191 | ||
| Carer's Allowance, cases in payment | 1,031,506 | 1,016,730 | 1,001,138 | 986,370 | 996,330 | 1,026,998 | 1,029,545 | 1,021,788 | 1,005,588 | 991,083 | 983,606 | 971,686 | ||
| Working-age and housing benefits3 | ||||||||||||||
| Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) | 811,771 | 845,873 | 998,885 | 1,175,221 | 1,330,027 | 1,421,898 | 1,494,204 | 1,518,405 | 1,539,726 | 1,561,409 | 1,584,495 | 1,606,159 | ||
| Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) | 76,862 | 69,179 | 71,095 | 86,079 | 80,897 | 81,322 | 93,506 | 91,989 | 95,996 | 87,107 | 87,639 | 88,474 | ||
| Housing Benefit | 1,446,949 | 1,460,514 | 1,562,988 | 1,702,483 | 1,849,501 | 1,954,657 | 2,082,823 | 2,240,385 | 2,279,192 | 2,314,278 | 2,351,313 | 2,394,371 |
Latest reading
State Pension stood at 13,307,794 Cases in Q1 2026. That is +0.4% from Q4 2025 and +2.0% from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q2 2002 to Q1 2026. Source: Department for Work and Pensions — Stat-Xplore.
- Latest
- 13,307,794 Cases
- Q1 2026
- vs previous period
- +0.4%
- Q4 2025
- vs a year earlier
- +2.0%
About this data
Department for Work and Pensions statistics from Stat-Xplore on the number of people receiving each of the main working-age, disability and pensioner benefits apart from Universal Credit, quarterly since 1999, 2002 or the benefit's launch: State Pension, Pension Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance (cases with entitlement and cases in payment), Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit. Figures count cases administered by DWP, including claimants living abroad and cases in Scotland that DWP pays on behalf of the Scottish Government until they move to Social Security Scotland's own benefits, so disability and carer caseloads fall as Scottish cases transfer. DWP counted most benefits in February, May, August and November until 2025 and in the last month of the quarter from March 2026; the monthly series for PIP and Housing Benefit are taken at the last month of each quarter. Legacy benefits (ESA, JSA, Housing Benefit for working-age people) are shrinking as claimants move to Universal Credit; Income Support, fully replaced by Universal Credit in 2025, is not shown.
Frequently asked questions
- Which benefits are tracked in this DWP caseload table?
- The table reports claimant cases for State Pension, Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, PIP, DLA, Carer's Allowance, ESA, JSA and Housing Benefit.
- How often are UK benefit claimant numbers published?
- The Department for Work and Pensions releases these administrative benefit caseload counts quarterly, with long-run historical records extending back to 1999.
- What is the difference between Carer's Allowance entitlement and payment?
- Cases with entitlement meet the statutory criteria for Carer's Allowance, whereas cases in payment receive the actual monetary transfer after accounting for overlapping benefit rules.
- Are Universal Credit claimants included in this benefit table?
- No, this table specifically focuses on DWP administered pensioner, disability and legacy working-age benefits, rather than Universal Credit caseloads.
