Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much Pension Credit was paid out in the latest reporting period; and what proportion of this was subject to fraud or error.

The latest published DWP Benefit expenditure and caseload tables show that in 2023/24, Pension Credit expenditure (outturn) was £5,467 million (nominal terms). These figures are based on Autumn Statement 2024 and are available at: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 - GOV.UK.

However, the latest DWP Fraud and Error statistics for financial year 2023/2024 are based on Spring Statement 2024 and estimate that of the £5,400 million Pension Credit expenditure (forecast, rounded to £100m), £520 million is due to fraud and error overpayment (where the Department pays people too much money).

This equates to an overpayment of 9.7% of Pension Credit expenditure (nominal terms, based on Spring Statement 2024). This data can be found here: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates - GOV.UK. The estimates are published annually, and the next release is planned for May 2025, which will estimate fraud and error in benefit claims for the financial year ending 2025.