State pension (contributory) is an insurance-based payment, paid to people from the age of 66 who satisfy a number of qualifying conditions. The number of persons currently in receipt of state pension (contributory) is 404,136.
The following table shows the number of state pension (contributory) recipients over the past ten years. Due to demographic trends and people living longer, the number of state pension (contributory) recipients has grown steadily year on year over the past decade.
Year
|
No. of recipients of state pension (contributory)
|
% increase
|
2007
|
237,599
|
|
2008
|
250,117
|
5.3%
|
2009
|
265,102
|
6.0%
|
2010
|
280,419
|
5.8%
|
2011
|
296,995
|
5.9%
|
2012
|
312,314
|
5.2%
|
2013
|
329,531
|
5.5%
|
2014
|
346,420
|
5.1%
|
2015
|
361,725
|
4.4%
|
2016
|
377,062
|
4.2%
|
2017
|
394,378
|
4.6%
|
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.