Almost ** million individuals were receiving UK pension benefits as of the first quarter of 2023. The number of recipients peaked for the age group between 70 and 74 years old, and then began to fall with each subsequent age bracket. With over ******* recipients, the ** and above category had the lowest number of UK pension beneficiaries.

Number of people of State Pension age and working age, and old age dependency ratios for regions, counties and local authorities in England.

United Kingdom % of Household: by Type: 1 Person: Over State Pension Age data was reported at 13.433 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 13.378 % for 2015. United Kingdom % of Household: by Type: 1 Person: Over State Pension Age data is updated yearly, averaging 13.248 % from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.656 % in 2013 and a record low of 12.893 % in 2011. United Kingdom % of Household: by Type: 1 Person: Over State Pension Age data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.H027: Number of Households, Household Size and Type.

From the fourth quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2024, the total number of pension beneficiaries in the UK remained reasonably consistent, growing by around ********people. Notably, the total number of pre-2016 state pension recipients decreased by roughly ****million persons while the number of new state pensions increased.

The value of any pension pots already accrued that are not state basic retirement or state earning related. This includes occupational pensions, personal pensions, retained rights in previous pensions and pensions in payment.

As of the first quarter of 2023, the vast majority of UK pension beneficiaries were receiving a weekly payment of *** British pounds or higher. The ratio of female to male beneficiaries was relatively matched throughout all weekly payment categories. The only outlier from this relatively even gender split was the "80 to 100" British pounds category having a total of roughly ****** men and approximately ******* women.

Data on membership, contributions, benefits, assets (including overseas) and liabilities of funded occupational pension schemes in the UK. Data are quarterly from the Financial Survey of Pension Schemes (FSPS).

As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, the highest number of UK pension recipients were located in the South-East of England. Over *********** recipients were located abroad while Wales and the North-East of England had the lowest number of individuals receiving pension payments.

The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been running continuously since 1992 to meet the information needs of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is almost wholly funded by DWP.

The FRS collects information from a large, and representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom (prior to 2002, it covered Great Britain only). The interview year runs from April to March.

The focus of the survey is on income, and how much comes from the many possible sources (such as employee earnings, self-employed earnings or profits from businesses, and dividends; individual pensions; state benefits, including Universal Credit and the State Pension; and other sources such as savings and investments). Specific items of expenditure, such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax and water bills, are also covered.

Many other topics are covered and the dataset has a very wide range of personal characteristics, at the adult or child, family and then household levels. These include education, caring, childcare and disability. The dataset also captures material deprivation, household food security and (new for 2021/22) household food bank usage.

The FRS is a national statistic whose results are published on the gov.uk website. It is also possible to create your own tables from FRS data, using DWP’s Stat Xplore tool. Further information can be found on the gov.uk Family Resources Survey webpage.

Secure Access FRS data
In addition to the standard End User Licence (EUL) version, Secure Access datasets, containing unrounded data and additional variables, are also available for FRS from 2005/06 onwards - see SN 9256. Prospective users of the Secure Access version of the FRS will need to fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. Full details of the application requirements are available from http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/media/178323/secure_frs_application_guidance.pdf" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Guidance on applying for the Family Resources Survey: Secure Access.

FRS, HBAI and PI
The FRS underpins the related Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which focuses on poverty in the UK, and the related Pensioners' Incomes (PI) dataset. The EUL versions of HBAI and PI are held under SNs 5828 and 8503, respectively. The Secure Access versions are held under SN 7196 and 9257 (see above).

FRS 2022-23

The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the FRS 2022-23 survey was much reduced when compared with the two previous survey years. Throughout the year, there was a gradual return to pre-pandemic fieldwork practices, with the majority of interviews being conducted in face-to-face mode. The achieved sample was just over 25,000 households. Users are advised to consult the FRS 2022-23 Background Information and Methodology document for detailed information on changes, developments and issues related to the 2022-23 FRS data set and publication. Alongside the usual topics covered, the 2022-2023 FRS also includes variables for Cost of Living support, including those on certain state benefits; energy bill support; and Council Tax support. See documentation for further details.

FRS 2021-22 and 2020-21 and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the FRS 2021-22 and 2020-21 data collection in the following ways:

• In 2020-21, fieldwork operations for the FRS were rapidly changed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the introduction of national lockdown restrictions. The established face-to-face interviewing approach employed on the FRS was suspended and replaced with telephone interviewing for the whole of the 2020-21 survey year.

• This change impacted both the size and composition of the achieved sample. This shift in mode of interview has been accompanied by a substantial reduction in the number of interviews achieved: just over 10,000 interviews were achieved this year, compared with 19,000 to 20,000 in a typical FRS year. While we made every effort to address additional biases identified (e.g. by altering our weighting regime), some residual bias remains. Please see the FRS 2020-21 Background Information and Methodology document for more information.
• The FRS team have published a technical report for the 2020-21 survey, which provides a full assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the statistics. In line with the Statistics Code of Practice, this is designed to assist users with interpreting the data and to aid transparency over decisions and data quality issues.

• In 2021-22, the interview mode was largely telephone, with partial return to face-to-face interviews towards end of survey year. The achieved sample was over 16,000 households. This is a return towards the number expected in a normal survey year (around 20,000 households).
• In both survey years, there remain areas where users are advised to exercise caution when making comparisons to other survey years. More details on how the results for the 2020 to 2021 and 2021-22 survey years were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can be found in the FRS 2020 to 2021 Background Information and Methodology and FRS 2021 to 2022 Background Information and Methodology.

The FRS team are seeking users' feedback on the 2020-21 and 2021-22 FRS. Given the breadth of groups covered by the FRS data, it has not been possible for DWP statisticians to assess or validate every breakdown which is of interest to external researchers and users. Therefore, the FRS team are inviting users to let them know of any insights you may have relating to data quality or trends when analysing these data for your area of interest. Please send any feedback directly to the FRS Team Inbox: team.frs@dwp.gov.uk

Latest edition information

For the second edition (May 2025), the data were redeposited. The following changes have been made:

• An ONS-delivered fix to the highest level of qualification (EDUCQUAL) which for several adults had been erroneously recorded.
• For ESA (benefit 16 on the BENEFITS table) the associated VAR3 has now been populated using ESA admin data, to show whether cases are Support Group etc.
• For Pension Credit recipients (benefit 4 on the BENEFITS table) adding the low-income benefits and tax credits Cost of Living Payment as benefit 124; with its flag CLPAYIRB set on the ADULT table.

This data collection contains information on the health of 26,500 United Kingdom postal workers who retired between 1860 and 1908. Following the 1859 Superannuation Act, all postal workers serving for ten or more years were eligible for a pension, and those who had worked for less than years could apply for a one-off gratuity. The data were transcribed from the pension application forms submitted to the Treasury for approval when a worker either reached retirement age (60 years until 1892 when it rose to 65) or were medically incapable of performing their duties. Two types of data on the health of these workers have been transcribed from the pension forms. First, a table which provides the number of days off sick taken in each of the ten years prior to their retirement. Second, the cause of retirement, where the worker was retiring for medical reasons this cause had to be certified by a doctor. Additionally, information on each workers’ age at retirement, length of service, occupation and place of work has been transcribed from the pension forms. These data have all be checked and standardised, and the causes of retirement have been coded to ICD10h. Additional contextual information on local characteristics such as population density have been added. For a sub-set of the 26,500 retirees death dates have been traced and so information on survival post-retirement is included. These data provide a new dataset to examine morbidity and mortality across the entirety of the United Kingdom in the second half of the nineteenth century and the time of the epidemiological transition.

Annual data on membership (active, preserved and pensioner), contribution rates and benefits for occupational pension schemes in the UK.

Forecast: Number of Employees in Insurance, Reinsurance and Pension Funding in the UK 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

From the fourth quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2023 the total number of pension recipients climbed steadily by approximately ******* people. The ratio of female to male recipients remained relatively unchanged with roughly **** female recipients for every male recipient as of 2023.

Estimates and interpretation of trends in the level and sources of pensioners’ incomes. See https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pensioners-incomes-series-statistics--3 Source agency: Work and Pensions Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: PI series

Pension Credit claimants (financial help for people aged 60 or over whose income is below a certain level set by the law) Source: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Publisher: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Geographies: Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA), Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA), Ward, Local Authority District (LAD), County/Unitary Authority, Government Office Region (GOR), National Geographic coverage: England and Wales Time coverage: 2003 to 2009 Type of data: Administrative data Notes: Pension Credit, introduced on 6 October 2003, is an entitlement for people aged 60 and over living in Great Britain. It is not necessary to have paid National Insurance contributions to be eligible. The guarantee credit provides financial help for people aged 60 or over whose income is below a certain level set by the law. The level that applies depends on your circumstances, this is the standard, minimum guarantee. The awarded amount will depend on other sources of income, such as other pensions and savings. Extra amounts will be added to the standard minimum guarantee for those who have relevant housing costs, severe disabilities, or caring responsibilities. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistical-summaries