Revealed: UK’s paltry pension can’t provide even the most basic standard of living

OECD figures in 2018 showed the UK paid out just 29% of average earnings on pensions. This is the lowest of any developed country. Top of the table were the Netherlands, which pays 100.6% of average earnings, Portugal at 94% and Italy at 93.2%. Blair McDougall - formerly of Better Together - has suggested the UK cannot afford to pay a pension capable of supporting the most basic standard of living for a single person. In fact, he thinks that even the suggestion that the UK can afford it is laughable.