The government announced that the State Pension increased by 8.5% in April 2025, giving those entitled to the full amount £221.20 a week. This is around £11,500 a year.
Government Ministers point to the “triple lock” as proof the system is working. But let’s be clear: for the vast majority of working people, the State Pension on its own isn’t enough to live on with dignity. Given how much we all pay into the system, the deal looks more like a rip-off than a safety net.
The Minimum Isn’t Met
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) sets out what a basic standard of retirement should look like: heating your home, eating well, transport, and a bit of social life. They put the figure at £14,400 a year for a single person. That’s not luxury living, it’s survival with a bit of breathing space.
But the State Pension falls nearly £2,900 short of that figure. For anyone who rents or still pays a mortgage, the gap is even bigger. In other words, after a lifetime of work and contributions, millions will retire into enforced poverty unless they have significant private savings on top.
A Lifetime of Contributions, a Pittance in Return
To get the full State Pension, you need 35 years of National Insurance contributions or credits. Plenty of workers, especially women, carers, and those in insecure or part-time jobs, will never qualify for the full rate.
The “solution offered”? Pay even more in voluntary top-ups. Working people across England already give a huge share of their wages in NI and tax. Why should they be asked to pay again just to avoid poverty in old age?
The Drop in Living Standards
If you’re on the National Minimum Wage (around £19,000 a year for full-time hours), retirement brings an immediate pay cut of £7,500 a year if you rely only on the State Pension.
That’s a huge loss of income, with no escape except through private or workplace pensions, something that millions of low-paid workers can’t afford to build up properly.
UK at the Bottom of the Pile
For all the talk of being a “world-leading economy,” the UK sits close to the bottom when it comes to pension provision:
- UK: ~ £11,500 a year (full State Pension)
- Ireland: ~ £13,800
- Germany: ~ £16,300
- France: ~ £17,500
- Netherlands: ~ £19,000 (with compulsory workplace schemes)
- Denmark: ~ £20,000+ (plus strong occupational pensions)
Workers across England and the rest of the UK pay in heavily but get less back than nearly all of our European neighbours. It’s not because the money isn’t there, it’s because political choices keep our State Pension at the bottom end, forcing reliance on private provision that many can’t access.
Left Behind at Home and Abroad
For those who dream of retiring abroad? Unless you move to the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, or a handful of countries with reciprocal deals, your pension is frozen at the rate you first receive it. Move to Canada or New Zealand, and your State Pension will never rise again, no matter how high inflation climbs.
Time for Change
Working people in England keep the UK running. We pay our National Insurance, our taxes, and we’re told the State Pension is the “reward” at the end of it. But that reward is a system that doesn’t cover the basics, leaves millions short, and ranks among the worst in the developed world.
The State Pension is supposed to provide dignity in old age. Instead, it leaves millions anxious about heating bills, food prices, and social isolation. The triple lock may protect against inflation in theory, but when the baseline is already too low, “protection” simply means surviving on slightly less poverty year by year.
The State Pension is not generosity from the state, it’s our money, built up through our work. Trade Unions have every right to demand a State Pension that guarantees a decent retirement for all, not just those lucky enough to afford private top-ups.
Stephen Morris, General Secretary of the Workers of England Union said:-
“After a lifetime of work, no one should be facing poverty in old age. Be assured the WEU will continue to be a Trade Union that will highlight this injustice. We will continue to highlight that the State Pension can’t cover even the minimum cost of living, and that the system failing the very people it was meant to protect.”