Key points

At February 2026 (unless otherwise stated) there were:

  • 272,280 Universal Credit claimants, an increase of 53,030 (24%) on a year earlier.
  • 1,040 Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants, a decrease of 2,910 (74%) on a year earlier.
  • 56,330 Employment and Support Allowance claimants, a decrease of 32,180 (36%) on a year earlier.
  • There were no Income Support claimants, a decrease of 4,950 (100%) on a year earlier. This is due to the completion of migration of claims to Universal Credit.
  • 71,760 Disability Living Allowance claimants, a decrease of 0.3% (210) on a year earlier.
  • 229,620 Personal Independence Payment claimants, an increase of 10,240 (5%) on a year earlier.
  • 75,640 Carer’s Allowance claimants, a decrease of 2% (1,820) on a year earlier.
  • 67,760 Attendance Allowance claimants, an increase of 6% (3,580) on a year earlier.
  • 334,910 State Pension claimants, an increase of 3% (8,480) on a year earlier.
  • 60,150 Pension Credit claimants and 69,130 beneficiaries, an increase of 140 claimants (0.2%) on a year earlier.

Figure 1: Annual Percentage Changes of Key Benefits

Introduction

The Northern Ireland Benefits Statistics Summary provides an up to date and concise overview of the benefits administered by DfC in Northern Ireland, and is updated on a quarterly basis.

Time series are presented as a 5-year rolling period with figures rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages to the nearest 1%. As a consequence aggregates may not sum to totals.

All the data below are designated as Accredited Official Statistics except for Universal Credit statistics which are ‘Official Statistics in Development’ (Previously known as Experimental Statistics). The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as Accredited Official Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Further information and links to all available summaries, including more detailed statistics in accompanying Supplementary Tables, are available on the Department for Communities (DfC) Benefits statistics summary website.

Move to Universal Credit

The migration of Tax Credit and legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit began in October 2023 and is known as Move to Universal Credit. Current legacy benefit claimants will be invited to make a Universal Credit claim by the Department for Communities. This migration affects the following benefits in this publication:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Universal Credit (UC)

Universal Credit is a payment to help with living costs and was first introduced on a phased geographical basis from September 2017 to December 2018 resulting in no new claimants to Income-based Job Seekers Allowance, Income related Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support.

  • There was an increase in the number of households on Universal Credit from 229,340 households in November 2025 to 238,730 households in February 2026. The number of claimants reached 272,280.
  • Of the 272,280 claimants on Universal Credit, 13% (34,910) were in the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime.
  • The majority (226,590) of the households were in paid receipt of Universal Credit.
  • In February 2026, 55% of Universal Credit households in payment were single people without children and 32% were lone parents.
  • The average amount of Universal Credit paid, to the 226,590 households in payment, was £1,000.17 per month.

Further Universal Credit tables are available at Universal Credit Statistics.

Figure 2: Time series of Universal Credit households and claimants

Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA)

Jobseeker’s Allowance is a benefit paid to those searching for work. The official source of statistics for unemployment related benefits is the experimental Claimant Count, which includes Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants and out-of-work Universal Credit claimants who are claiming principally for the reason of being unemployed. With the introduction of Universal Credit, there will be no new claimants to Income-based Job Seekers Allowance. However, claims can still be made to New Style Job Seekers Allowance, depending on claimants’ National Insurance contributions.

  • At February 2026, there were 1,040 claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance. This represents a decrease of 74% (2,910) on a year earlier and an increase of 5% (50) since November 2025. The decreasing trend is largely due to the introduction of Universal Credit and the recently implemented Move to Universal Credit migration.
  • The average weekly Jobseeker’s Allowance benefit payment was £88.87.

Further Jobseekers Allowance tables are available through the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 3: Time series of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants

Income Support (IS)

Income Support is paid to those on low income to cover living costs. New claimants on low income can no longer apply for Income Support but must apply for Universal Credit instead. All existing Income Support claimants have now migrated to Universal Credit.

  • There are no current Income Support claimants in Northern Ireland following the completion of migration of claimants to Universal Credit.

Further Income Support tables are available from the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 4: Time series of Income Support claimants

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

Employment and Support Allowance is paid to those who have a disability or health condition that affects how much an individual can work and provides assistance to help with living costs. There are no new claims to Income based Employment and Support Allowance with claimants instead being directed to claim Universal Credit.

  • At February 2026, there were 56,330 claimants of Employment and Support Allowance. This represents a decrease of 36% (32,180) on a year earlier.
  • Employment and Support Allowance has been decreasing since the introduction of Universal Credit and with the recent implementation of the Move to Universal Credit migration.
  • Of the 56,330 claimants, 54% (30,200) were female and 46% (26,120) were male.
  • Of the 56,330 claimants, 1% (840) were in the Work Related Activity Group, 89% (50,250) were in the Support Group. The remaining 9% (5,240) were either in the assessment phase or were receiving credits only or their phase was unknown.
  • The average weekly Employment and Support Allowance benefit payment was £134.90.

Further Employment and Support Allowance tables are available from the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 5: Time series of Employment and Support Allowance claimants and recipients

Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance

Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance are paid to people facing extra barriers to work because of their long-term illness or disability.

Between 2010 and 2014, existing Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance customers were moved to Employment and Support Allowance by reassessing their eligibility for the benefit. A small number of claimants remained on each benefit with numbers decreasing over time due to attrition.

  • At February 2026, there were 760 claimants of Incapacity Benefit, a decrease of 90 from the previous year.
  • For Severe Disablement Allowance, there were 420 claimants, a decrease of 90 from the previous year.

Note: due to the diminishing numbers of claimants, supplementary tables are no longer produced for Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance.

Figure 6: Time series of Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance claimants

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

Disability Living Allowance is a tax-free benefit for disabled people who need help with mobility or care costs. Disability Living Allowance has been replaced by the Personal Independence Payment for people who were born after 8 April 1948 and are 16 or over. You can now only make a new claim for Disability Living Allowance if you’re under 16.

  • At February 2026, there were 71,760 claimants of Disability Living Allowance, a decrease of 0.3% (210) on a year earlier.
  • There were 71,560 recipients of DLA (those actually in receipt of a payment).
  • 51% (36,880) of claimants were children (under 16), 3% (2,080) were aged between 16 and 65 and 46% (32,800) were aged 66 and over.
  • 17% (12,400) of claimants were claiming the care component only, 2% (1,690) were claiming the mobility component only and 80% (57,670) were claiming both the care and mobility components.
  • 17% (12,530) of claimants were claiming the highest rate of award (i.e. higher rate mobility and higher rate care components).
  • The average weekly Disability Living Allowance benefit payment was £124.79.

Further Disability Living Allowance tables are available from the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 7: Time series of Disability Living Allowance claimants

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Personal Independence Payment is provided to people who need help with daily activities or getting around due to a long-term illness or disability. It has replaced the Disability Living Allowance for people aged 16 or over but under State Pension age.

  • At February 2026, there were 229,620 Personal Independence Payment claims in payment. The award rate for normal rules Personal Independence Payment new claims with an assessment was 49% during February 2026.
  • 46% (104,910) of claims in payment had psychiatric disorders as the main disabling condition.
  • 16% (36,840) of claims in payment were receiving the daily living component only, 3% (6,010) were receiving the mobility component only and 81% (186,770) were receiving both the daily living and mobility components.

Further Personal Independence Payment tables and additional background information can be found at Personal Independence Payment Statistics.

Reassessment of Disability Living Allowance claimants

The main reassessment of existing working age Disability Living Allowance claimants to Personal Independence Payment commenced in December 2016 and has now been completed. Disability Living Allowance claimants turning 16 will continue to be reassessed for Personal Independence Payment.

Figure 8: Time series of Personal Independence Payment claimants

State Pension (SP)

The State Pension is a retirement income for individuals who have reached State Pension age.

  • At February 2026, there were 334,910 claimants of State Pension, an increase of 3% (8,480) on a year earlier.
  • 53% (179,110) of the claimants were female and 47% (155,800) were male.
  • The average weekly State Pension amount in payment at February 2026 was £216.74, an increase of £9.09 since February 2025.
  • New State Pension was introduced for people reaching State Pension age from 6 April 2016. At February 2026 there were 149,760 New State Pension recipients.

Further State Pension tables are available from the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 9: Time series of State Pension claimants

Pension Credit (PC)

Pension Credit provides extra money to help claimants with living costs if over State Pension age and on a low income.

  • At February 2026, there were 60,150 claimants of Pension Credit, an increase of 0.2% (140) on a year earlier.
  • There were 69,130 beneficiaries (claimants and partners), a decrease of 0.3% (180) on a year earlier. 87% (60,150) of beneficiaries were claimants and 13% (8,980) were partners.
  • Of all beneficiaries (claimants and partners), 58% (40,370) were female and 42% (28,760) were male. Of all claimants, 62% (37,380) were female and 38% (22,780) were male.
  • The average weekly Pension Credit benefit payment was £88.77.
  • The downward trend in the number of Pension Credit claimants to August 2024 was mainly due to the increase in State Pension age and the increase in State Pension amounts.

Further Pension Credit tables are available from the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 10: Time series of Pension Credit claimants

Attendance Allowance (AA)

Attendance Allowance helps with extra costs if your disability or health condition is severe enough for you to need help caring for yourself or someone to supervise you, for your own or someone else’s safety.

  • At February 2026 there were 67,760 claimants of Attendance Allowance, an increase of 6% (3,580) on a year earlier.
  • Of the 67,760 claimants, 65,890 (97%) were recipients and 1,870 (3%) were receiving credits only.
  • 59% (39,800) of claimants were female and 41% (27,960) of claimants were male.
  • 55% (37,170) of claimants were aged 80 or over.
  • 71% (48,420) of claimants were receiving the higher rate of award.

Further Attendance Allowance tables are available from the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 11: Time series of Attendance Allowance claimants

Carer’s Allowance (CA)

Carer’s Allowance is paid to individuals who care for someone else at least 35 hours a week and they get certain qualifying benefits.

  • At February 2026, there were 75,640 claimants of Carer’s Allowance, a decrease of 2% (1,820) on a year earlier.
  • Of the 75,640 claimants, 46,020 were recipients and 29,630 were receiving credits only.
  • Of all claimants, 65% (49,310) were female and 35% (26,330) were male.
  • Of all claimants, 66% (50,170) were of working age and 34% (25,480) were of pension age.

Further Carer’s Allowance tables are available from the BSS supplementary tables.

Figure 12: Time series of Carer’s Allowance claimants

Further Information

For further information:

If you are unable to find the data you require please contact us at .

About these statistics

Glossary of terms

  • Claimants: The number of clients on the administrative system at the reference date.
  • Recipients/Beneficiaries: The number of clients on the administrative system at the reference date who received a benefit payment. For Pension Credit this includes partners.
  • Households (Universal Credit): Households are counted as being on Universal Credit where a claimant or claimants within the household are included in the count of claimants.
  • Credits Only: The number of clients entitled to the benefit, but who do not actually receive a payment.

Accredited Official Statistics Code of Practice

Accredited Official Statistics status means that statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value and it is the Department’s responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.

In June 2013, the United Kingdom Statistics Authority accredited these official statistics as Accredited Official Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in November 2020. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are labelled ‘accredited official statistics’. Further details can be found at the UK Statistics Authority.

It is the Department for Communities’ responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of Accredited Official Statistics. Any concerns about whether these statistics meeting the appropriate standards, will be discussed with the Authority promptly. Accredited Official Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and only reinstated when standards are restored. Statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing or via the OSR website.

Since being designated Accredited Official Statistics, DfC have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

  • Moved to a more simplified and visually appealing format, explaining our statistics so that they can be better understood by all users.
  • Introduced improved validation procedures to ensure quality.
  • Revised outputs to reflect the impact of Welfare Reform on benefits contained in this publication, including incorporating Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit official statistics in development.

Further information on accredited official statistics can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation guidance page.

Data source and quality

All statistics are based on 100% extracts from the benefit administrative systems. Data is partially validated and is deemed of sufficiently high quality to report on. Data is extracted at 2 weekly, 4 weekly or 6 weekly intervals. Data is represented as end of reported month to aid presentation, but actual extract data will not generally be exactly this date. The statistics show the number of people claiming benefit on the extract date. State Pension data extracts are not available as regularly as for other benefits. For this reason, the reporting date of State Pension may not align exactly with the other benefits in this publication. For example, November’s publication may contain State Pension data at December because no data is available for November. As data is taken from live administrative systems, it relies on the customer reporting correct information about themselves and information being correctly recorded on the relevant systems.

Claimant Count

The official source of statistics for unemployment related benefits is the experimental Claimant Count, which includes Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants and Universal Credit claimants who are searching for work. Details of this series can be found at NISRA Claimant Count Statistics.

Client Group Analysis

The “Client Group Analysis” series of statistics has been suspended until further notice. These statistics will be resumed once a method of incorporating Universal Credit data into the analysis has been assessed as suitably robust. Further information can be found on the Department for Communities guidance page.

Rounding/Disclosure control

The accuracy of statistics may be slightly affected by rounding and/or disclosure control. Even when data (either administrative or sample) do not contain National Insurance number, name and address it may still be possible to identify someone. Say, for example, a data table showed disability type, by ethnicity, within small geographic areas. Some of the cells in the table may only contain one person. It is possible in such cases for personal and sensitive information to be deduced. This is data disclosure and in DfC steps are taken to ensure that it doesn’t happen. As an additional protective measure, details of the disclosure control methodology are not published.

Benefits Information and Eligibility

Information on individual benefits including eligibility criteria is available from NI Direct.

Contact Details, Accessibility, and Feedback

Published by: Analytics Division, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Department for Communities

Telephone: 028 9051 5424

Email: analyticsdivision@communities-ni.gov.uk

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