UK’s mandatory state pension is among the lowest in the OECD. Pensioners in the UK face relatively high levels of poverty.
The claim that the UK’s state pension is the worst in the ‘developed world’ is somewhat misleading. Comparisons between pension systems in different countries are difficult, as they rely to different extents on occupational and voluntary saving. While the UK’s mandatory state pension is among the lowest in the OECD, when combined with essential mandatory occupational pension schemes which many people in the UK are enrolled in, [the UK comes 26th out of 46 industrialised countries and the combined average pension gives about 50% of the working wage]. However, pensioners in the UK face relatively high levels of poverty. [It is vastly behind the rate Brazil,s pensioners get and significantly behind the EU average.]