UK spent £23bn on benefits and pensions for foreign nationals in 2025

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 17:39 · Archive

The Centre for Social Justice estimates the UK government spent about £23bn on benefits, pensions and child-related support for non-British nationals in 2025. The think tank found approximately 1.85 million non-British adults received at least one form of welfare support or state pension last year, a number expected to reach two million by 2030.

Of the £23bn total, about £14.3bn was for working-age benefits. The CSJ also identified £2.9bn in pension-related payments and £5.8bn in benefits linked to children. The think tank reported that approximately 1.4 million foreign nationals received working-age benefits, around 200,000 received disability benefits, another 200,000 received sickness benefits, and an estimated 400,000 received the state pension.

The CSJ noted that the number of foreign nationals on Universal Credit increased by 38 per cent since April 2022, reaching 1.3 million, including 745,000 covered by the EU settlement scheme and 537,000 migrants from outside the European Economic Area. GB News reported that households containing at least one foreign national received £11.92bn in Universal Credit payments during 2025, representing 15.6 per cent of total Universal Credit expenditure and marking a 25 per cent increase on the £9.5bn paid in 2024.

The government said it does not recognise the CSJ's estimates, citing the think tank's use of samples rather than complete data. The CSJ based its analysis on data from the Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC and the Home Office.

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who founded the CSJ, said the analysis highlighted the need for reform to immigration and welfare systems, stating that those arriving should be able to support themselves and their families. The CSJ's findings come amid debate over the effects of immigration on the UK economy and welfare spending, with net migration reaching around 944,000 in the year to March 2023.

How it is being reported

• Britain's colossal benefits bill for foreign households could fund pensions for ONE MILLION BritonsBritain's staggering benefits bill for foreign households could fund pensions for close to one million Britons, according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures. Households containing at least one foreign national received £11.92billion in Universal Credit payments during 2025, equivalent to funding the full new State Pension for almost 950,000 people for a year. The data, obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Centre for Migration Control, shows that payments to these households accounted for 15.6 per cent of total Universal Credit expenditure. Most shockingly…GB News · 14 Oct, 17:35
• Nearly two million foreign nationals 'receiving benefits or state pension'Leading think tank estimates £23bn was spent on handouts, pensions and child-related support received by foreign nationals last yearDaily Express · 14 Oct, 17:21
• Benefits and pensions for foreign nationals ‘cost £23bn’Spending on benefits and pensions for foreign nationals totalled about £23bn in 2025, according to a leading think tank, amid calls for a rethink on the impcat of immigration and the welfare system. The Centre for Social Justice estimated that the UK government spent about £23bn on benefits, pensions and child-related support for non-British nationals [...]City AM · 14 Oct, 17:00

In this story: Centre for Social Justice · Department for Work and Pensions · UK · Sir Iain Duncan Smith · Centre for Migration Control

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