State Pension and Pension Credit

Please note that anyone with a query regarding a claim for State Pension or Pension Credit should go directly to the Gov.uk website

Summary

State Pension

In August 2021, the State Pension caseload was 240,810 in the Lancashire-12 area and 288,830 in the Lancashire-14 area. Within the Lancashire-12 area, Wyre (29,350) and Lancaster (27,780) had the largest number of persons claiming State Pension, whilst Rossendale (12,660) had the lowest.

People are generally living longer, so the trend was generally one of an increasing number of pensioners until 2014, or slightly later. However, owing to the ongoing changes to the State Pension age, the number of persons claiming State Pension began a sharp decline in or around 2017. As the figures are published quarterly, it is possible to observe a cyclical effect for recent years with a smaller caseload in February of each year than in November of the year before, see Figure 1. This has been true of all the geographies shown in Table 1 since 2015, and for most geographies beginning in 2013. This is believed to be caused by excess winter deaths. There appears to have been a reversal of the downward trend in 2021. Unfortunately the DWP launched a new system in 2019 called 'Get your State Pension' for new claimants. Our usual source for these statistics, Stat-Xplore, does not include these, so there is potential for inconsistency in the periods since then.

Pension Credit

A large proportion of the retired population does however have limited financial means and in August 2021, the number of claimants of Pension Credit amounted to 28,470 in the Lancashire-12 area and 38,140 in the Lancashire-14 area. Within the Lancashire-14 area Blackpool (5,580) had the greatest number of claimants of Pension Credit while Ribble Valley (800) had the lowest. Pension Credit is claimed on a household basis, rather than an individual one, so we can calculate the total number of beneficiaries as well. In August 2021 there were 33,070 beneficiaries of Pension Credit in the Lancashire-12 area and 44,450 in the Lancashire-14 area.

In the Lancashire-12 area, the total number of Pension Credit beneficiaries as a percentage of the State Pension total caseload was 13.7%, below the Great Britain figure of 14.5%.

High numbers of Pension Credit claims are associated with inner-urban areas where the older population does not form a large proportion of local residents. The pensioners that reside in these areas however are often those in most need of this benefit. The distribution of these areas can be seen in Figure 3. The number of Pension Credit recipients has been in decline since 2009, largely owing to the increase in the female State Pension age, which is leading to a fall in eligible claimants.

State Pension (£2.07bn) and Pension Credit (£91.8m) accounted for 64% of the total benefits expenditure in the Lancashire-12 area (£3.36bn) during the 2020/21 financial year.

Introduction

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes quarterly data on the number of claimants of the various types of state benefits. Included in this material is information on the number of State Pension and Pension Credit claimants. Some of the figures used in this article have been obtained from the DWP's Stat-Xplore site but because the DWP launched a new system in 2019 called 'Get your State Pension' for new claimants which is not included in the Stat-Xplore data the latest and recent figures for State Pension are derived from spreadsheets published quarterly by the DWP.

From December 2018, the State Pension age for both men and women increased to reach 66 by April 2020, then will again to reach 67 by April 2028, following an eight year period (2010-2018) in which the female State Pension age rose to match the State Pension age for men. The earlier take-up by women of State Pension, combined with their greater life expectancy, ensures that there are always more women claimants that men.

People who reached State Pension age before 6^th April 2016 can receive the basic State Pension and Additional State Pension.

People who reached State Pension age on or after 6^th April 2016 can receive the new State Pension

The amount paid for new State Pension is around 30.5% higher than the basic State Pension. Both types of pension increase each year by a rate determined by whichever is the highest:

• earnings - the average percentage growth in wages (in Great Britain)
• prices - the percentage growth in prices in the UK as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
• 2.5%

The maximum amount currently awarded for basic State Pension is £137.60. All of the average weekly benefits shown in Table 1 are higher than this, so the figures shown include varying amounts of Additional State Pension. There is a detailed explanation of new State Pension, aimed mostly at those who do receive, or soon will be receiving, the benefit. Currently the full amount for new State Pension is £179.60.

We have copied a more technical guidance note from one of the supporting data tables included in a DWP benefits summary. This also deals with the history of State Pension. We present this as an appendix.

The split between the recipients of the basic + Additional State Pension and new State Pension can be seen in the Microsoft Excel download: "State Pension caseloads, May 2002 to November 2020 time series, quarterly data for Lancashire-14 areas, plus GB and North West data" referenced at the foot of the page. Data since that quarter has not been available on Stat-Xplore.

Please see the government's pensions and an ageing society web page for more information about pensions.

State Pension caseload in Lancashire

Table 1 has been presented as a summary of the main district-level figures. The table reveals that in August 2021, the State Pension caseload in Great Britain and abroad amounted to around 12.5 million. In the Lancashire-12 area the total caseload was 240,810 while the total figure for the Lancashire-14 area was 288,830. At the local authority level, Wyre recorded the highest caseload in the Lancashire-14 area of 29,350, even though it only has the seventh highest total population in the Lancashire-14 area. With a caseload of 12,660, Rossendale had the lowest.

The average amount of State Pension awarded in Great Britain and to pensioners living abroad was £159.11. In the Lancashire-14 area, Rossendale recorded the highest weekly average £169.11, noticeably well in excess of the lowest figure of £157.60 in Blackpool.

Figure 1 shows the State Pension caseload for the Lancashire-12 area in every quarter from May 2002. It shows a steady rise for 10 years or a little more before changes to the State Pension age began to take effect. From 2013 a cyclical pattern appears in which the caseload for February is less than in November of the previous year. This may be due to excess winter deaths. The caseloads peak in November 2015 after which a decline emerges. The apparent recovery in 2021 may be due to issues in the data reporting. The issues are currently not yet resolved.

The following Microsoft Power BI slide includes Table 1, Table 2 plus Figures 1 to 3. To enlarge the slide to full-screen click on the double-headed arrow on the right hand side of the slide's grey footer panel, and to return to normal display use the escape 'Esc' key. In the tables the columns can be sorted by clicking the column header.

Source Department for Work and Pensions, Information and Analysis Directorate, Information Centre DWP Stat-Xplore website. The pension caseload is the number of clients on the administrative system at the reference date. Figures are adjusted in the Stat-Xplore tool and we have also rounded the caseload values to the nearest ten. Adding district caseloads figures may result in different values to the county totals and totals quoted elsewhere in this article.

Quarterly time series data is provided below for State Pension caseloads from May 2002 to November 2020 and Pension Credit caseloads (including the partner indicator) from November 2003. (The data has been sourced from the DWP Stat-Xplore website. Please note both sets of data are unrounded). 

Pension Credit claimants in Lancashire

Pension Credit is for pensioners in Great Britain at the lower end of the income scale. The benefit consists of Guarantee Credit, Savings Credit, or both. For Guarantee Credit the intention is that no-one who has reached the qualifying age need live on an income of less than guaranteed amounts for single people and couples. For single people this matches the new State Pension award. People receiving the new State Pension may not be eligible for Savings Credit.

The age from which people can get Pension Credit is the same as State Pension age.

As shown in Table 2, at the GB level, the claimant number for Pension Credit was just around 1.4 million in August 2021. In the Lancashire-12 area, the figure was 28,470, whilst for the Lancashire-14 area the number was 38,140. At the local level, the largest numbers of claimants were in the two unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen (4,090) and Blackpool (5,580). Within the Lancashire-12 area, Lancaster district has 3,320 claimants and Preston has 3,250. Ribble Valley recorded by far the lowest number of claimants with just 800.

Pension Credit numbers have generally been on the decline since 2009, and one reason is the increase in the State Pension age for women.

Pension Credit is claimed on a household basis. In the case of a couple, either may claim if both are of qualifying age, but only one partner can get Pension Credit at any one time.

If partners are also included, the total numbers of beneficiaries of Pension Credit in August 2021 was 33,070 for the Lancashire-12 area, and 44,450 for the Lancashire 14- area. Within the Lancashire-14 area, Blackpool (6,380), Blackburn with Darwen (5,010), Preston (3,840), Lancaster (3,790) and Wyre (3,730) had the greatest number of beneficiaries of Pension Credit while Ribble Valley (880) had the lowest.

Pension Credit beneficiaries as a percentage of State Pension total caseloads

In the Lancashire-12 area, the total number of Pension Credit beneficiaries as a percentage of the State Pension total caseload was 13.7%, below the Great Britain figure of 14.5%. The percentage in the Lancashire-14 area was pushed up to 15.4%, above the Great Britain rate, by the unitary authorities Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool, both of which having rates above 20%.

Average weekly amounts (£s) of Pension Credit

The average weekly amount of Pension Credit varies between a low of £51.01 in Ribble Valley up to a high of £70.54 in Blackburn with Darwen. The amount is largely determined by how far the claimant's total income, which may include an occupational pension and State Pension, falls short of the guaranteed amount. The State Pension element of income may have been reduced due to the number of years in which National Insurance contributions were not made, or if part of the NI contributions were contracted out. Reasons for missing some years of contributions may include maternity and raising a family, studying, working abroad or self-employment. As well as this we see in Figure 2 that average payments tend to be higher in local authorities with a higher proportion of claimants with partners. This indicates that more claimants are receiving the award for couples, intended to bring the claimants joint income up to match the guaranteed income for couples, which is currently £93.20 higher than the single claimant's award.

The overall cost of State Pension and Pension Credit in the Lancashire County Council area

The government publishes yearly benefit expenditure caseload tables that detail the amounts spent on various benefits. Numbers are available for each of the 14 Lancashire local authorities, and for the Lancashire-12 area. The figures reveal how State Pension and Pension Credit form a large proportion of overall benefit expenditure. State Pension (£1.97bn) and Pension Credit (£95.5m) accounted for 62% of the total benefits expenditure in the Lancashire-12 area (£3.34bn) during the 2018/19 financial year.

Winter fuel payments

The government releases figures on winter fuel payments by local authority boundaries. These include the figures for the Lancashire-14 authorities that are split by gender and by four age-groups.

Housing exclusively for older people

There is a growing tendency towards housing developments that are exclusively for people who are either retired or are approaching retirement. The presence of these sites impacts on concentrations of older people in particular areas. Examples of sites in Lancashire include the following:

The major Buckshaw Village housing and commercial development to the south of Chorley includes the Oakbridge Retirement Village. The development offers facilities under the three distinct headings of independent living, assisted living or supported living. Brookside, which is in Ormskirk town centre, provides a large number of self contained apartments for people aged over 55 who may need help and support at home.

Housing 21 is said to be the UK's largest non-profit care provider and offers a range of homes for sale or rent, plus specialist care facilities. The housing option on the website gives access to a property search facility.  Typing 'Lancashire' into the location box highlights a number of sites across the Lancashire-14 area and beyond.

The Park Home Living website lists 80 separate parks in the Lancashire-14 area and beyond. The links to the individual websites provide details of ownership.

 Page updated March 2022