State Retirement Pensions: Northern Ireland
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were entitled to (a) old style and (b) new style State Pensions in Northern Ireland as of December 2025; and what was the average annual payment paid to each recipient.
Answered by Torsten Bell
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold complete information on State Pension entitlement and payments in Northern Ireland, as the majority are administered by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland under the devolution settlement.
The Department holds information on the number of people in receipt of the State Pension, including payments, but not on the number of people with entitlement.
The number of people in receipt of State Pension payments administered by DWP to people resident in Northern Ireland is estimated to be a) 229 for pre-2016 State Pension and b) 279 for new State Pension. The average weekly payment for these people is estimated to be £183.15 overall, a) £178.69 for pre-2016 State Pension and b) £186.85 for new State Pension. These are based on latest figures for the quarter ending August 2025. Source: DWP Stat-Xplore.
These figures do not reflect State Pension payments administered under the devolution settlement by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland publish Benefit Statistics Summaries, with latest data to quarter ending November 2025, at the following link: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/benefits-statistics-summary-publication-accredited-official-statistics-november-2025
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