The number of middle-class households receiving disability benefits has more than doubled in the past four years, figures show.
There are nearly 200,000 households with an annual income of more than £100,000 receiving personal independent payments (PIP), according to estimates by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The figures will prompt fresh debate about the scale of reform that is needed to rein in Britain’s spending on benefits.
The number of people claiming Personal Independence Payments (Pip) – a benefit that is intended for those with long-term physical or mental illness that is not means-tested – has reached a record level of 3.9 million.
Pip claims cost the taxpayer £26bn a year, a figure that is forecast to rise to £41bn by the end of the decade.
Political rivals have claimed that Labour has abandoned attempts to reform the welfare system despite its soaring cost.
Labour’s rebel backbenchers forced the Prime Minister to abandon his plans to adopt a tougher stance on the bill for PIP claims in June last year.
There is growing alarm about the surging number of people claiming PIP, especially for mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and ADHD. Psychiatric disorders make up 39 per cent of all PIP claims, making it by far the largest category.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance cited the numbers of “high-income” households in receipt of PIP in their submission to the Timms review, which the Government has commissioned to examine the benefit.
Estimates from the DWP’s annual family resources survey show that in 2024-25, there were roughly 197,000 households with a gross annual income of more than £104,000 receiving Pip.
This was up from 98,000 in 2021-22, when a change in the survey’s methodology meant that data from previous years were not comparable.
Starmer told to act
Shimeon Lee, a policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be stunned to learn that nearly 200,000 high-income households claim Pip.
“The surge in the number of these households since 2021-22 has coincided with the soaring cost of disability benefits.
“The Government must introduce means-testing to ensure the system remains sustainable for those who need it most.”
In their submission to the Timms review, the Taxpayers’ Alliance said that the lack of means-testing in Pip was at odds with the rest of the welfare system, which is either means-tested or contribution-based.
“The argument that Pip enables people to work and that means-testing would prevent this simply does not apply at the highest levels of income,” their submission said.
“It is highly unlikely that the loss of Pip would make it impossible for a disabled person with a household income over £100,000 a year to work.”
Last week, The Telegraph revealed that Sir Keir Starmer was “watering down” checks on benefit claimants to prevent the welfare system from collapsing under a record backlog of mental health cases.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has tabled an early day motion that would overturn the policy.
Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “The benefits bill is out of control – and Labour is doing nothing to stop it. PIP claims are rising rapidly, and set to double by the end of the decade.
“We will tighten up who qualifies for Pip and rapidly reassess hundreds of thousands of cases to get people into work, rather than welfare.”
A DWP spokesman said: “Pip is not handed out freely – it requires a thorough assessment of how a disability or health condition impacts daily life and is specifically designed to help people meet the extra costs that come with it.
“However, we inherited a broken welfare system, and we are getting on with fixing it – our reforms will save the UK taxpayer £1.9bn over the Parliament, while the Timms review is looking at how to make Pip fit and fair for the future.”