UK State Pension Climbs European Rankings After Triple Lock Boost

The UK state pension has improved its European ranking after years of triple lock increases. The country now ranks 12th out of 30 European nations in a research compiled by Almond Financial, which also takes into account factors such as free NHS healthcare and widespread homeownership. The triple lock guarantees annual increases based on whichever is highest among wage growth, inflation or 2.5 per cent.

Since its introduction in 2012, the old state pension has increased by 71 per cent, while the new state pension, introduced in 2016, has risen by 55 per cent. The full new state pension now stands at £12,547 a year, around £1,280 more than it would have been under an inflation-only uprating system.

Britain's increase also compares favourably with several major European economies this year. Spain raised its state pension by 2.7 per cent in line with consumer price inflation, while France awarded pensioners a 0.9 per cent increase. Elsewhere in Europe, Romania has frozen state pension payments for two years as part of EU-backed fiscal reforms.

Automatic enrolment into workplace pension saving has also brought an additional 10 million workers into the system. Major economies including France, Spain and Germany do not operate equivalent automatic enrolment systems, while Lithuania ended its own programme last year.