About this data

Source: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2026

• Adjusted for inflation by DWP with the GDP deflator, in 2026/27 prices.
• Spending for 2025/26 is a forecast. In 2024/25 the payment was limited to pensioners receiving Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits; from 2025/26 it went back to all pensioners, but is recovered through tax from those with incomes over £35,000.
• The Winter Fuel Payment was devolved to Scotland in April 2024, so Scotland is not included from 2024/25; it is replaced there by the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. Northern Ireland pays its own Winter Fuel Payment, which is not included in any year.

This chart appears in Energy prices.