Anxiety benefits bill balloons as taxpayers shell out for huge surge in Gen Z claimants
Generation Z are responsible for a dramatic surge in anxiety claimants, according to newly published data.
Nearly a third of individuals who began receiving Personal Independence Payment (Pip) for anxiety disorders over the past two years were aged between 16 and 24 (7,403), Department for Work and Pension figures show.
Further still, when those up to the age of 34 are included, the proportion climbs above half of all recent claimants.
Some 22 per cent were aged 25 to 34, while the same proportion fell in the 35 to 44 bracket. Just 14 per cent were between 45 and 54, 11 per cent aged 55 to 64 and a mere 2 per cent over 65.
As of July 2026, of the 72,195 people claiming Pip for an anxiety disorder, more than 24,000 began receiving payments in the last two years.
Across England and Wales, 4.09 million people were entitled to Pip by 31 July 2026 - a 7 per cent increase on the 3.83 million recorded twelve months earlier.
A government-commissioned review led by Alan Millburn, the former Health Secretary, is expected to be published this autumn.
In an interim report, Mr Millburn described the Pip system as "no longer fit for purpose."
His final recommendations will address the crisis of one million young people classified as not in education, employment or training.
He told The Guardian: "We’ve got to have a different conversation about the welfare system; it just isn’t working for young people.
"We need to redistribute money from the welfare system to more employment support if we are going to end the NEET crisis."
Mr Milburn also called for employment, mental health and benefits support to be more integrated.
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But speaking to GB News on Monday, Alex Burghart accused the Prime Minister of delaying the report until after Budget at the end of the month "so they don't have to talk about the costs."
Pip is available from the age of 16 regardless of whether someone is in work, holds savings, or receives other benefits.
Among the subcategories of anxiety disorder, social phobia accounted for 3,554 claimants, with 35 per cent of those aged 16 to 24.
Panic disorder, meanwhile, was listed by 3,851 recipients, of whom 13 per cent fell within that youngest cohort.
Dr Jed Boardman, a consultant psychiatrist at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, told The Telegraph the figures can be "misleading" and "don’t reveal the necessary level of detail."
Earlier this year, it was revealed workers struggling with anxiety or depression were more likely to be claiming benefits after receiving help from Government job coaches.
Those who received employment support alongside NHS talking therapies had a 4.2 percentage point higher probability of receiving benefits than similar workers who received therapy alone, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
In comparison, those who received employment support alongside therapy had a 2.7 percentage point lower probability of receiving any benefits three years later compared with the expected change from therapy alone.
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