PIP claims for back pain cost almost £2billion a year as claimant numbers soar

The daily cost of supporting those claimants has risen from £2million to £5million over the past seven years.

Around 47 additional people begin claiming PIP for back pain each week, while the average weekly payment has increased by 40 per cent to £131.21.

Back pain claims now account for an estimated £1.89billion of the overall PIP bill, more than double the £800million recorded seven years ago.

The figures highlight the rising cost of the disability benefit as overall welfare spending continues to increase.

Pensioners are now the fastest-growing group receiving PIP for back pain. More than 70,500 people aged 65 and over receive the benefit for the condition, at an estimated annual cost of £491million.

Their share of all back pain PIP claimants has risen from 15 per cent in 2019 to 26 per cent.

Those claimants did not begin receiving PIP after reaching the state pension age because the benefit is closed to new applicants once they reach 66.

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Instead, they were awarded PIP during their working lives and continued receiving it into retirement.

Once a claimant reaches state pension age, their award no longer has a fixed end date and is typically reviewed only once every 10 years.

Some recipients could therefore continue receiving the benefit for decades. Across England and Wales, four million people now receive PIP.

The overall cost of the benefit is projected to increase from £26billion a year to £45billion by 2031.

The Government’s Timms Review, published this month, concluded that PIP is preventing some claimants from returning to work and is failing to provide value for taxpayers.

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Ministers have acknowledged that the current system is “no longer fit for purpose”, although they have not yet set out detailed reforms.

The review was commissioned by Sir Keir Starmer in 2025 after Labour backbench MPs opposed plans to reduce welfare spending by £5billion.

PIP is not means-tested, meaning claimants can receive the benefit regardless of their savings or earnings. Recipients may also qualify for additional support, including a Motability vehicle and a Blue Badge.

One recent fraud case involved Andrew Vincent, a 62-year-old grandfather, who was jailed for six months in October 2025 after fraudulently claiming £18,000 in PIP.

Vincent originally applied for the benefit in 2017 because of prolapsed discs but failed to tell the DWP when his condition improved.

Covert surveillance later captured him coaching a pub football team in Biddulph, Staffordshire.

Investigators said he was seen walking across the pitch, carrying equipment and standing for long periods despite previously claiming he could not walk more than 20 metres.

Jonathan Eida, a researcher at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are breaking their backs funding the country’s crushing benefits bill. When every week adds hundreds more to the list, and scammers are caught coaching football while claiming they can’t walk, it’s clear the system is broken.

“The Government must tighten the criteria and ensure disability welfare only goes to those who truly cannot support themselves.”

A DWP spokesman said: “The central conclusion of the Timms Review Interim Report is clear: Pip is no longer fit for purpose. The review’s final recommendations are due this autumn and will lay the foundation for deep, sustainable reform.”

The department added that it is pursuing changes intended to deliver £1.9billion of savings by the end of the 2030-31 financial year.