Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual cost to the exchequer of expenditure on all pensioner benefits, including a breakdown of (1) basic state pension, (2) additional pensions, (3) new state pension, (4) pension credit, (5) housing benefit, (6) winter fuel payments, (7) Christmas bonus, (8) age addition, (9) deferred pensions, (10) free prescriptions, (11) free travel, (12) eye tests, and (13) dental care.

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.

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.

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.

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