Autumn Statement 2015: Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the government will keep the triple lock, with the basic state pension rising to £119.30 a week from April 2016.
The single-tier pension rate has been set at £155.65 a week. This will be available to those reaching pensionable age from April next year.
Osborne said: “I can confirm that next year the basic state pension will rise by £3.35 to £119.30 a week. That’s the biggest real terms increase to the basic state pension in 15 years.
“Taking all of our increases together, over the last five years, pensioners will be £1,125 better off a year than they were when we came to office.”
Hugh Nolan, director, JLT Employee Benefits, added: “Keeping the triple lock is great news for pensioners. However, this will be paid for by the current working generations. These people won’t get such good pensions for themselves, especially with the delay in the minimum contribution for auto-enrolment.
“Therefore, this increases the intergenerational unfairness, with younger people losing out. The reality is that the working people of today will have to save a lot more to guarantee themselves a decent retirement.”
“The new state pension will eventually make life simpler in the long run. The government still has its work cut out to communicate the changes. It has to explain to millions of people approaching retirement how their individual state pension has been affected.”
“The state pension age is increasing with life expectancy but given the blip in the mortality rate in 2015, when will they measure it? This could make a material difference.
“The basic state pension was announced as £119.30 and the flat rate state pension as £155.65, but given the various adjustments under each system, the general public is largely in the dark on what they will really get. The government and the pensions industry need to make sure relevant information is more easily available for those approaching state pension age.”