State pension payout likely to rise by £2.40 a week

This would mean the benefit rises from its current £95.25 weekly payout to £97.65, though critics argue the rise (of 34p per day) means the payout is still woefully short to support basic living expenses.

This year, the pension rate rose by £4.55 a week.

The increase next spring is a result of this morning's inflation figures, which showed the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure fell from minus 1.3% in August to minus 1.4% in September (see the Inflation hits five-year low MSE News story).

Basic state pension payments rise every April by the previous September's RPI figure or 2.5%, whichever is higher. In this case, the 2.5% rise should be invoked.

Men currently get the state pension at 65, while women are eligible at 60, though these qualifying ages are set to rise over the coming years (see the Tories to hike pension age early MSE News story).

Further reading/Key links

• Boost state pension:

  www.moneysavingexpert.com/statepension

• Pension MoneySaving:

  www.moneysavingexpert.com/pensions

MSE News (06.10.09): Isa limit rises for over 50s