Total benefit expenditure: record highs and lows
The extremes of total benefit expenditure as published by DWP, across the 77 periods held here (Year ending March 1949 to Year ending March 2025). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.
The latest figure, £289.3bn in Year ending March 2025, is the highest in the whole published series of 77 periods. The rule: a period counts as beaten only when its figure is strictly below the latest, and the claim is only made when it reaches back at least five years.
Highest published
£289.3bnYear ending March 2025
Lowest published
£471.3mYear ending March 1949
The full series
The chart as a table
| Period | Total benefit expenditure |
|---|---|
| Year ending March 1949 | £471.3m |
| Year ending March 1950 | £597.8m |
| Year ending March 1951 | £610.5m |
| Year ending March 1952 | £642.1m |
| Year ending March 1953 | £775.2m |
| Year ending March 1954 | £816.7m |
| Year ending March 1955 | £839.2m |
| Year ending March 1956 | £942.3m |
| Year ending March 1957 | £980.8m |
| Year ending March 1958 | £1.1bn |
| Year ending March 1959 | £1.3bn |
| Year ending March 1960 | £1.4bn |
| Year ending March 1961 | £1.4bn |
| Year ending March 1962 | £1.6bn |
| Year ending March 1963 | £1.6bn |
| Year ending March 1964 | £1.9bn |
| Year ending March 1965 | £2bn |
| Year ending March 1966 | £2.3bn |
| Year ending March 1967 | £2.5bn |
| Year ending March 1968 | £2.8bn |
| Year ending March 1969 | £3.2bn |
| Year ending March 1970 | £3.4bn |
| Year ending March 1971 | £3.6bn |
| Year ending March 1972 | £4.2bn |
| Year ending March 1973 | £4.9bn |
| Year ending March 1974 | £5.5bn |
| Year ending March 1975 | £6.9bn |
| Year ending March 1976 | £9.3bn |
| Year ending March 1977 | £11.1bn |
| Year ending March 1978 | £13.4bn |
| Year ending March 1979 | £15.9bn |
| Year ending March 1980 | £18.8bn |
| Year ending March 1981 | £22.7bn |
| Year ending March 1982 | £27.7bn |
| Year ending March 1983 | £31.6bn |
| Year ending March 1984 | £35.3bn |
| Year ending March 1985 | £38.3bn |
| Year ending March 1986 | £41.8bn |
| Year ending March 1987 | £44.9bn |
| Year ending March 1988 | £46.7bn |
| Year ending March 1989 | £47.3bn |
| Year ending March 1990 | £50.3bn |
| Year ending March 1991 | £56.5bn |
| Year ending March 1992 | £66.3bn |
| Year ending March 1993 | £75.3bn |
| Year ending March 1994 | £82.4bn |
| Year ending March 1995 | £84.9bn |
| Year ending March 1996 | £88.7bn |
| Year ending March 1997 | £92.2bn |
| Year ending March 1998 | £93.3bn |
| Year ending March 1999 | £95.6bn |
| Year ending March 2000 | £99bn |
| Year ending March 2001 | £101.4bn |
| Year ending March 2002 | £106.7bn |
| Year ending March 2003 | £110.3bn |
| Year ending March 2004 | £105.8bn |
| Year ending March 2005 | £111.1bn |
| Year ending March 2006 | £115.8bn |
| Year ending March 2007 | £119.2bn |
| Year ending March 2008 | £126.2bn |
| Year ending March 2009 | £135.8bn |
| Year ending March 2010 | £148.1bn |
| Year ending March 2011 | £153.5bn |
| Year ending March 2012 | £159.1bn |
| Year ending March 2013 | £166.6bn |
| Year ending March 2014 | £164.2bn |
| Year ending March 2015 | £168.4bn |
| Year ending March 2016 | £171.9bn |
| Year ending March 2017 | £173.9bn |
| Year ending March 2018 | £178.1bn |
| Year ending March 2019 | £183.8bn |
| Year ending March 2020 | £192.6bn |
| Year ending March 2021 | £213.2bn |
| Year ending March 2022 | £217.6bn |
| Year ending March 2023 | £233.1bn |
| Year ending March 2024 | £267.9bn |
| Year ending March 2025 | £289.3bn |
What a record here is, and is not
A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.