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Pensions

Answer

The territorial extent, age requirements, and availability of latest data vary by policy area. Pensioner benefit spending is devolved to Northern Ireland, whereas transport and healthcare spending is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Noting these points, the UK Government spends around £150bn per year on pensioner benefits.

The forecast of 2023-24 expenditure on all pensioner benefits in Great Britain can be found in the table below. Deferred pension figures are captured in the basic State Pension, new State Pension, and Lump Sum Payment figures.

£ million	2023-24 Forecast
Basic State Pension	66,617
of which Lump Sum Payments	186
Additional Pensions	19,163
New State Pension	36,234
Pension Credit	5,437
Housing Benefit	5,938
Winter Fuel Payments	2,037
Christmas Bonus	128
Age Addition (Category D State Pension)	195
Attendance Allowance	6,686
Other	9,170
Total	151,604

Source: Spring 2023 Benefit Expenditure Outturn and Forecast Tables on GOV.UK

The latest available data on dental care for pensioners in England is from 2022-23 and can be found below. However, there is no published 2022-23 data on prescription or eye test expenditure as any information provided would be based on internal DHSC analysis and modelling, which could change.

£ million	2022-23
Free Dental Care	56

Source: NHS Dental Statistics: 2022-23

The latest available data on free travel for pensioners in England is from 2021-22 can be found below. This figure also includes spend on travel for individuals with disabilities.

£ million	2021-22
Free Travel	803

Source: Concessionary Travel data from the Bus Statistics data tables on GOV.UK.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL10231

Session

2022-23

Subjects

Pensions Social security benefits Tax allowances

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk