Pensioners have been the biggest beneficiaries of 14 years under the Conservatives with more than £1 in every £5 spent by the Government going to the over-66s, a think tank has said.
A report by the Resolution Foundation found the average pensioner is £1,000 a year better off in 2024-2025 than they were when the Conservatives first took power.
By comparison, working households are £760 better off a year as the balance of state spending shifts toward the older population.
Meanwhile, substantial cuts to child-related benefits mean families with children under the age of 15 are £780 poorer a year since 2010.
Sophie Hale from the Resolution Foundation said: “The combination of Britain’s big baby boomer generation retiring, and policies that have benefited pensioners the most, has meant that the profile of Britain’s public spending has greyed.”
It comes as retirees make up an ever larger share of the population and hold greater sway over election results.
The number of people claiming the state pension has risen by more than half a million to 13 million since 2010, and is on course to hit 13.2 million by 2028-29.
This increase comes despite rises in the state pension age and underlines how public spending is increasingly shifting towards retirees, the report noted.
Spending on pensioners has grown by £270bn in real terms since 2010, taking it from 9.3pc of GDP to 9.8pc.
More than £1 in every £5 of all government spending in a year goes towards pensioners as a result.