Pension Claimant Data for Lancashire

The State Pension age for men is 65 and is between 60 and 65 for women. The State Pension age for women will increase gradually from 2010, so that by 2020 it will be 65.

Introduction

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes quarterly data for the number of claimants to various forms of state benefits down to the district, ward and super out area levels. Included in this material is information on the number of State Pension and Pension Credit claimants.

Lowther Gardens, Clifton Ward, Lytham

The pension data for the Lancashire area has been analysed on a regular basis in a series of research monitors, and this particular monitor is the latest version (previous articles can be viewed in the archive section of this website). All the local authority data used in this article has been obtained via the DWP Tabulation Tool. The ward level data can be found by choosing the same link and then the Ward and Super Output area level option. At the time of writing this article, the ward level data on the DWP website was a little out of date. More recent figures were instead obtained via the NOMIS Labour Market Statistics website.

State Pension Caseload in Lancashire

Table 1 reveals that in November 2007, there was approaching 12 million state pension recipients in Great Britain. In the Lancashire County Council area, which excludes the two unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool, there were a total of 231,010 claimants. These two unitary authorities that are within the broader Lancashire area, had an additional 13,300 and 19,510 recipients respectively.

At the national level, the total increased by 2.0% over the year to November 2007, and by 2.1% for the Lancashire County Council area.

In both Lancaster and Wyre Districts, over 27,500 people were in receipt of state pension, whilst in Blackpool unitary authority the figure was over 31,000. The largest percentage yearly increases in the state pension caseload in Lancashire were in Rossendale (3.0%) and Chorley (3.7%).

The average amount of pension benefit recorded at the national level (£91.93), is kept relatively low because it includes pensions paid to claimants living abroad that are normally of a much lower value.

At the local authority level, Rossendale recorded the highest weekly average (£102.38), noticeably higher than the lowest Lancashire figure of £93.48 recorded in Blackpool.

Lancashire Ward Level Analysis

Preesall, Wyre District

Tables 2 and 3 show the number of pensioners in selected wards and Figure 1 details the percentages of State Pensioners as a proportion of the total number of people in each Lancashire ward. The results are mapped by five broad groups and are calculated by using the 2005 ward populations estimates for all age groups as the denominator, which are available in the Data Download Centre.

Table 2 highlights 12 predominantly coastal wards in Lancashire with the largest percentages of state pension claimants. Five are in Wyre District, four in Fylde, two in Lancaster and one in Blackpool.

In total, 17 wards in Lancashire recorded rates in excess of 30%, and all were in the same four authorities. Cabus ward in Wyre District (just to the north of Garstang) was the only ward in Lancashire where over 40% of the population is estimated to be claiming state pension.

Anchorsholme in Blackpool (6th highest rate) recorded the largest number of claimants (2,175), whilst Torrisholme Ward, situated between Lancaster and Morecambe, with 2,155 claimants was the other Lancashire ward that recorded more than 2,000 pension claimants. A further 23 recorded 1,500 or more claimants to state pension.

Table 3 lists the 12 wards in Lancashire with the lowest percentages of pensioners. The urban ward of Bastwell in central Blackburn recorded the lowest rate (7.0%) and was one of only nine Lancashire wards where pensioners were estimated to account for less than 10% of the resident population. A number of the wards in Table 3 are in core urban areas in Lancashire that are often ranked as noticeable areas of deprivation, but this is not correct in every case. Fernhurst ward in Blackburn is close to junction 4 of the M65 and has seen rapid population and income level growth in recent years, whilst Ellel in Lancaster is close to the university, which provides downward pressure on the rate from disproportionately large numbers of younger residents.

Figure 1 displays the percentages of State Pensioners by five broad groups ranging from 7.0%-15% of total population in a ward to over 30%. The Figure emphasises the popularity of many of the coastal wards in Lancashire for people who are entitled to claim the state pension. The areas around Lytham and St. Annes-on-Sea (Fylde District), between Knott End and Hambleton, and also Garstang (Wyre District) have high percentages of pensioners. A number of coastal wards to the north of Lancaster are also highlighted as popular residential areas for pensioners. In comparison, many of the main urban centres of population in the county: Preston, Blackburn, Burnley and Skelmersdale etc., recorded rates in the bottom category.

Figure 1 Percentages of State Pensioners by Ward, November 2007

Source Lancashire County Council Corporate Policy Team

Pension Credit

Pension Credit is designed to focus help towards pensioners at the lower end of the income scale, and to reward those people who have made modest provision for their retirement. The intention is to assure that no-one aged 60 and over need live on an income of less than a guaranteed amount of £124.05 a week, (£189.35 a week for pensioner couples). These amounts are more if pensioners have caring responsibilities, are severely disabled or have housing costs.

Lancaster Canal at Hest Bank, Slyne-with-Hest Ward, Lancaster District

To be entitled to Pension Credit, the applicant must be at least within four months of their 60th birthday and living in Great Britain. In the case of a couple, either may claim if both are aged 60 or over but only one partner can get Pension Credit at any one time. Full details of entitlement criteria can be found on the Pension Service website.

Lancashire Results

At the national level there were over 2.7 million Pension Credit claimants (caseload) in November 2007, down by just -0.1% over the past year. In the 12-district Lancashire County Council area, there were 55,580 claimants representing an increase of 0.2% over the year.

Please note that Pension Credit is claimed on a household basis and the caseload figures in Table 4 are for claims made per household, and take no regard of whether they are individual claims or for couples. If partners were also included, the total numbers of beneficiaries in November 2007 rises to 68,330 for the Lancashire County Council area and 3.3 million at the national level. The DWP Tabulation Tool includes Pension Credit figures both by household (caseload) and by total number of beneficiaries.

At the local level, the largest numbers of claimants were in the two unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen (7,280) and Blackpool (10,320). Within the Lancashire Count Council area, claimant numbers of over 6,000 were recorded in both Lancaster and Preston districts. The affluent rural ward of Ribble Valley recorded by far the lowest number of claimants with just 1,760.

Ward Level Results

Pension Credit figures are available at the ward level via the DWP website and the NOMIS Labour Market Statistics website. Table 5 lists the 12 wards in the broader Lancashire area with the most pension credit claimants.

Audley Ward, close to the centre of Blackburn was the only ward with more than 700 claims, whilst Claremont ward in central Blackpool was in second place with 635. There is a noticeable concentration in Table 5 of urban wards areas along the coast. Blackpool wards account for seven of the 12 wards in Table 5, whilst the two Lancaster District wards are both in Morecambe.

It appears that high numbers of Pension Credit Claims are not surprisingly associated with inner-urban areas, even though these areas often do not have particularly large numbers of pensioners (see Figure 1). The pensioners that reside in these areas are however often those in most need of this benefit.

This page was compiled by Bryan Moulding.

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