State pension will rise to £110.15 per week

Autumn Statement 2012: The government has announced that the basic state pension will increase by 2.5% to £110.15 per week from April 2013.

As a result, pensioners will see a £2.70 increase in the basic state pension in 2013/14, which the government said is in line with both average earnings and inflation.

Mark Wood, chairman of JLT Employee Benefits, said: “An individual would need savings of £195,000 to buy an annuity of the same value (£110 per week) as the state pension.

“This is not far off the average value of a home in the UK (£224,473, according to Office of National Statistics). The average pension pot of those approaching retirement is £55,000, according to the Treasury.

“So the state pension has become worth a very significant amount in today’s low-interest environment.”