Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024
Updated 28 November 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-pension-credit-claims-received-from-1-april-2024-to-1-september-2024/weekly-pension-credit-claims-received-from-1-april-2024-to-1-september-2024
Pension Credit applications data has been updated as of 28 November 2024, and can be found in the statistical release Pension Credit applications and awards statistics from 1 April 2024 to November 2024.
This page was updated on 27 September 2024 with additional data from 2 September to 22 September 2024, and new data covering the Pension Credit application method. The page was first published on 6 September 2024, with information about weekly Pension Credit claims volumes only, covering the period from 1 April to 1 September 2024.
Introduction
This publication provides ad hoc statistics about the number of weekly pension credit claims received between 1 April and 22 September 2024.
Data for the application method of weekly Pension Credit claims has also been added in this updated ad hoc statistical release.
Results
We have received around 74,400 Pension Credit claims in the 8 weeks since the announcement on 29 July (which is up to and including w/c 16 September). This is compared to around 29,500 Pension Credit claims in the 8 weeks preceding the announcement.
This represents a 152% increase in Pension Credit claims received by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the past 8 weeks compared to the 8 weeks before.
We have seen the proportion of Pension Credit applications received online increasing over time, from 59.7% the week before the announcement on 29 July (w/c 22 July 2024), to 91.8% in w/c 16 September 2024 (for which most recent data is available).
We have seen a corresponding drop in the proportion of both telephone and paper form Pension Credit claims from 24.7% and 14.3% respectively in w/c 22 July 2024, to 3.4% and 4.6% respectively w/c 16 September 2024.
Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024
Pension Credit Claims received and application method
| Week Commencing | Pension Credit claims received | Online | Online (%) | Telephone | Telephone (%) | Paper form | Paper form (%) | Other | Other (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2024 | 3,900 | 2,500 | 62.9% | 900 | 22.3% | 600 | 14.3% | 20 | 0.4% |
| 8 April 2024 | 4,400 | 2,800 | 62.9% | 1,000 | 22.6% | 600 | 13.8% | 30 | 0.7% |
| 15 April 2024 | 4,400 | 2,800 | 63.7% | 900 | 21.2% | 600 | 14.3% | 40 | 0.9% |
| 22 April 2024 | 4,200 | 2,700 | 64.6% | 900 | 20.4% | 600 | 14.2% | 30 | 0.8% |
| 29 April 2024 | 3,700 | 2,400 | 64.2% | 700 | 19.4% | 600 | 15.3% | 40 | 1.1% |
| 6 May 2024 | 3,400 | 2,100 | 62.9% | 800 | 23.0% | 500 | 13.2% | 30 | 0.9% |
| 13 May 2024 | 4,100 | 2,500 | 61.0% | 1,000 | 25.0% | 500 | 13.0% | 40 | 1.1% |
| 20 May 2024 | 4,000 | 2,300 | 58.7% | 900 | 22.8% | 700 | 17.5% | 40 | 1.0% |
| 27 May 2024 | 3,300 | 2,000 | 59.5% | 700 | 20.3% | 600 | 19.4% | 30 | 0.9% |
| 3 June 2024 | 4,200 | 2,500 | 59.7% | 900 | 22.0% | 700 | 17.2% | 50 | 1.2% |
| 10 June 2024 | 4,000 | 2,600 | 64.3% | 800 | 20.7% | 600 | 13.8% | 50 | 1.3% |
| 17 June 2024 | 3,400 | 2,200 | 64.3% | 800 | 23.9% | 300 | 10.3% | 50 | 1.5% |
| 24 June 2024 | 3,200 | 2,000 | 63.5% | 700 | 23.3% | 400 | 11.6% | 60 | 1.7% |
| 1 July 2024 | 3,800 | 2,300 | 60.2% | 800 | 22.1% | 600 | 16.3% | 50 | 1.4% |
| 8 July 2024 | 4,100 | 2,400 | 59.8% | 800 | 20.5% | 800 | 18.4% | 50 | 1.2% |
| 15 July 2024 | 3,300 | 2,100 | 61.5% | 800 | 24.3% | 400 | 12.9% | 40 | 1.2% |
| 22 July 2024 | 3,500 | 2,100 | 59.7% | 900 | 24.7% | 500 | 14.3% | 50 | 1.3% |
| 29 July 2024 | 7,900 | 5,900 | 74.5% | 1,200 | 14.7% | 800 | 10.3% | 40 | 0.5% |
| 5 Aug 2024 | 7,300 | 5,300 | 73.0% | 1,100 | 15.1% | 800 | 11.3% | 50 | 0.7% |
| 12 Aug 2024 | 5,900 | 4,400 | 74.8% | 900 | 14.5% | 600 | 9.9% | 50 | 0.8% |
| 19 Aug 2024 | 8,400 | 6,500 | 77.2% | 1,100 | 12.9% | 800 | 9.3% | 50 | 0.6% |
| 26 Aug 2024 | 9,000 | 7,200 | 80.3% | 1,000 | 11.0% | 700 | 8.1% | 50 | 0.6% |
| 2 Sept 2024 | 10,700 | 8,800 | 82.5% | 1,000 | 9.0% | 900 | 8.0% | 50 | 0.5% |
| 9 Sept 2024 | 13,400 | 12,000 | 89.6% | 500 | 3.7% | 900 | 6.5% | 30 | 0.2% |
| 16 Sept 2024 | 11,800 | 10,900 | 91.8% | 400 | 3.4% | 500 | 4.6% | 30 | 0.2% |
Source: DWP Management Information
Notes to table:
-
data is not seasonally adjusted
-
due to rounding individual columns will not add exactly to the rounded number of Pension Credit claims received
-
numbers in thousands have been rounded to the nearest 100, and in hundreds have been round to the nearest 10
-
the ‘other’ category relates to cases where the application method has not been recorded
-
the number of claims categorised as ‘by telephone’ drops week commencing 2 September 2024, as the DWP online claim form was used from this time to process inbound telephony calls – we are unable to differentiate these in the data from normal online claims
About these statistics
The figures presented in this release are from the Pension Credit system which has been collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to the same extent as Official Statistics.
Numbers in this publication are not comparable with the DWP benefit statistics published quarterly on GOV.UK. This is because this publication relates to Pension Credit applications, and how we have received them, as opposed to those currently in receipt of Pension Credit.
Further information about Pension Credit
For further information about Pension Credit, including eligibility, what is available and how to make a claim, please visit the Pension Credit page on GOV.UK.
Statement of Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:
- trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
- quality – is about using data and methods that produce statistics
- value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs
The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.
Trustworthiness
DWP analysts work to a professional competency framework and Civil Service core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality. The analysis in this release has been scrutinised and received sign off by the expert lead analyst.
We protect the security of our data in order to maintain the privacy of the citizen, fulfil relevant legal obligations and uphold our obligation that no statistics will be produced that are likely to identify an individual, while at the same time taking account of our obligation to obtain maximum value from the data we hold for statistical purposes. All analysts are given security training and the majority of data accessed by analysts is obfuscated and access is business case controlled based to the minimum data required.
The figures have been seen in advance by Ministers and officials, in line with the Code, where pre-release access does not apply for an ad hoc analysis release.
Quality
This publication uses internal management information from DWP’s Pension Credit internal systems and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards. However, engagement has taken place with data owners to ensure this data is fit-for-purpose and of sufficient quality for publication. Multiple rounds of quality assurance have been applied to ensure the data is as accurate and reliable as possible.
Value
These statistics are being published given public interest in Pension Credit claims following the Chancellor’s announcement on the 29 July 2024 that Winter Fuel payments will be limited to those on Pension Credit or other means tested benefits from Winter 2024. The figures add to the wider set of information on those who are claiming Pension Credit. The figures also help reduce the administrative burden of answering Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests and other forms of ad hoc enquiry.
Contact information
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