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Research · Benefits

UK Benefits Snapshot 2026

A single-page snapshot of the published DWP caseload data SupportFund holds for 2026: Universal Credit, State Pension, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Personal Independence Payment, across 17 verified records.

Published 12 August 2026 · Updated 12 August 2026 · SupportFund analysis of Department for Work and Pensions statistics · First edition · Last reviewed 12 August 2026

Executive summary

  • 17 verified DWP records are compiled in this snapshot.
  • Universal Credit, State Pension, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and PIP caseloads are shown as published, with their extract dates.
  • Employment status, work requirements, household composition and gender splits are shown where DWP publishes them.
  • Nothing here is a take-up estimate: DWP caseload data records who is receiving a benefit, not who is entitled to one.

Key findings

  • People on Universal Credit

    8.3 million — 8.3 million people were on Universal Credit in Great Britain in February 2026.

  • Year-on-year change in the Universal Credit caseload

    830,000 — The number of people on Universal Credit increased by 830,000 between February 2025 and February 2026.

  • Universal Credit households

    7.2 million — 7.2 million households in Great Britain were on Universal Credit in February 2026.

  • UC households receiving payment that include children

    44% — 44% of Universal Credit households receiving a payment had children.

  • Universal Credit recipients in employment

    3.1 million — 3.1 million people on Universal Credit were in employment in January 2026.

  • People receiving State Pension

    13.2 million — The State Pension caseload was 13.2 million, up 1.9% year on year.

  • People receiving Pension Credit

    1.4 million recipients — 1.4 million people received Pension Credit, with 1.6 million beneficiaries including partners.

  • People with PIP entitlement

    4.0 million — 4.0 million people in England and Wales had entitlement to Personal Independence Payment.

Analysis

This snapshot exists so a journalist can quote a current DWP caseload figure without hunting across five separate statistical releases. Every record links back to the original release.

Three points are worth stating plainly because they are frequently misreported. First, caseload is not take-up: these figures count people receiving a benefit, not people entitled to one. Second, Universal Credit is not an out-of-work benefit: DWP data shows a substantial share of recipients in employment. Third, around half of Universal Credit recipients have no work requirements, which reflects health conditions, caring responsibilities and other circumstances recorded by DWP.

Pension-age support is a separate story within the same dataset. State Pension is by far the largest single caseload, while Pension Credit — the means-tested top-up widely reported as under-claimed — has a much smaller recipient count. SupportFund does not publish a take-up percentage here, because a caseload figure alone cannot produce one.

PIP is recorded separately again, as an extra-costs benefit rather than an income-replacement benefit. Most recipients are of working age, and the published disabling-condition breakdown shows psychiatric disorders as the largest recorded category.

Universal Credit and other working-age and pension-age caseloads

Published DWP figures, with the extract date shown against each record.

  • 8.3 million — 8.3 million people were on Universal Credit in Great Britain in February 2026. (Department for Work and Pensions, February 2026)
  • 830,000 — The number of people on Universal Credit increased by 830,000 between February 2025 and February 2026. (Department for Work and Pensions, February 2025 to February 2026)
  • 7.2 million — 7.2 million households in Great Britain were on Universal Credit in February 2026. (Department for Work and Pensions, February 2026)
  • 6.7 million — 6.7 million households, equivalent to 93% of Universal Credit households, had a payment indicator. (Department for Work and Pensions, February 2026)
  • 44% — 44% of Universal Credit households receiving a payment had children. (Department for Work and Pensions, February 2026)
  • 3.1 million — 3.1 million people on Universal Credit were in employment in January 2026. (Department for Work and Pensions, January 2026)
  • 37.8% — 37.8% of people on Universal Credit were in work in January 2026. (Department for Work and Pensions, January 2026)
  • 50% — Around 50% of Universal Credit recipients were in the no-work-requirements conditionality regime. (Department for Work and Pensions, February 2026)
  • 57% — 57% of people on Universal Credit were women. (Department for Work and Pensions, February 2026)
  • 13.2 million — The State Pension caseload was 13.2 million, up 1.9% year on year. (Department for Work and Pensions, August 2025)
  • 1.4 million recipients — 1.4 million people received Pension Credit, with 1.6 million beneficiaries including partners. (Department for Work and Pensions, August 2025)
  • 1.5 million claims — There were 1.5 million Housing Benefit claims, down 25.6% year on year. (Department for Work and Pensions, November 2025)

Personal Independence Payment

Published PIP statistics to April 2026.

  • 4.0 million — 4.0 million people in England and Wales had entitlement to Personal Independence Payment. (Department for Work and Pensions, 30 April 2026)
  • 83% — 83% of PIP recipients — approximately 3.3 million people — were of working age. (Department for Work and Pensions, April 2026)
  • 37% — 37% of PIP claims with entitlement received enhanced rates of both Daily Living and Mobility. (Department for Work and Pensions, April 2026)
  • 250,000 — 250,000 new PIP claims were registered in the quarter ending April 2026. (Department for Work and Pensions, Quarter ending April 2026)
  • 39% — Psychiatric disorders represented 39% of normal-rules PIP claims. (Department for Work and Pensions, April 2026)

Charts

Universal Credit in 2026: caseload snapshot

Great Britain · February 2026 (employment measure: January 2026) · Source: Department for Work and Pensions

People — People (millions)People on Universal CreditPeople on Universal Credit: 8.3 million8.3 millionPeople in employment (January 202…People in employment (January 2026): 3.1 million3.1 millionHouseholds — Households (millions)Households on Universal CreditHouseholds on Universal Credit: 7.2 million7.2 millionHouseholds due a paymentHouseholds due a payment: 6.7 million6.7 millionChart: SupportFund. Source data: Department for Work and Pensions. Great Britain, February 2026 (employment measure: January 2026).

Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Department for Work and Pensions. Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 12 February 2026. Last checked 12 August 2026. View original source

PIP in 2026: claimant snapshot

England and Wales · April 2026 · Source: Department for Work and Pensions

Claimants — People (millions)Total claimants with entitlementTotal claimants with entitlement: 4.0 million4.0 millionWorking-age claimantsWorking-age claimants: Approximately 3.3 millionApproximately 3.3 millionChart: SupportFund. Source data: Department for Work and Pensions. England and Wales, April 2026.

37%

Enhanced Daily Living + Mobility award

Share of PIP claims with entitlement — shown separately because it is a percentage, not a claimant count.

Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Department for Work and Pensions. Personal Independence Payment official statistics to April 2026. Last checked 12 August 2026. View original source

Methodology

  • This publication is SupportFund analysis and compilation of official UK statistics. SupportFund did not collect the underlying data and has not run a survey. Every figure remains the property and responsibility of the original publisher.
  • Each figure is stored once in the SupportFund statistics registry with its publishing organisation, release title, source URL, reference period and last-checked date, and is read back from that record wherever it appears.
  • Values are reproduced exactly as published. SupportFund does not recalculate, rebase, seasonally adjust or combine official figures into an index.
  • Reference periods differ between releases and are shown against every figure. Figures from different periods are not compared as if they were a time series.
  • Percentages and percentage points are distinguished throughout: a change of 0.7 percentage points is not a 0.7% change.
  • All records were last checked against their source on 2026-08-12.
  • Only Department for Work and Pensions records are included. SupportFund's own benefits directory content is deliberately excluded so that this snapshot carries a single primary attribution.
  • Caseload figures relate to the DWP extract date, not to the publication date of the release.

Limitations

  • This is a compilation of separate official releases, not a single consistent survey.
  • Geographic coverage varies by release: some figures are UK-wide, some are Great Britain, some England and Wales, and some England only. The coverage is shown against each figure.
  • Survey-based figures carry sampling uncertainty that is documented by the original publisher.
  • Administrative caseload figures reflect the date the data was extracted and are routinely revised by the publisher.
  • Association is not causation: figures published in the same report do not establish that one caused the other.
  • Caseload is not take-up, and no take-up rate is calculated here.
  • DWP figures are routinely revised as later data becomes available.
  • Benefit rules and caseloads for Northern Ireland and Scotland differ in places from the coverage of individual releases; the coverage of each figure is shown against it.

Sources

Source: Department for Work and Pensions — Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 12 February 2026

Last checked: 12 August 2026

View original source

Source: Department for Work and Pensions — DWP benefit statistics: February 2026

Last checked: 12 August 2026

View original source

Source: Department for Work and Pensions — Personal Independence Payment official statistics to April 2026

Last checked: 12 August 2026

View original source

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this report. Read our corrections policy.

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