According to DWP, pensioner incomes have not increased since 2010

The average pensioner's weekly income is £407, which is only a 15% increase from 2010

Will wages rise in the future, and what might happen to the state pension?

According to data released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the average pensioner income has increased by just 15 over the previous 14 years, remaining largely unchanged.

The average weekly pensioner income in 2024 is 407, up from 392 in 2010. The state pension, personal and workplace pensions, investment gains, part-time employment, and any other sources of income may all contribute to retirees' income.

For pensioner couples, this average weekly income increases to 595, while for single pensioners it falls to 282. According to DWP data, pensioners 75 years of age and older earn 372 and 455, respectively, less than those under 75.

Thomas Lambert, a financial planner at wealth manager Quilter, states that "it is evident there has been a marked slowdown despite the considerably higher cost of living" when comparing the 2010 and 2024 numbers to the "steep rise" from 206 in 1995 to 392 in 2010.

An average weekly income of 292 for single men and 278 for single women illustrates how the gender pension gap persists into retirement.

What role does the state pension play?

According to DWP, benefit incomewhich includes the state pensionaccounted for the majority of total gross income for both pensioner couples and single pensioners.

This was 37% for couples of pensioners and 56% for those who were single.

The state pension and other benefits remain the cornerstone of retirement finances, according to Stephen Lowe of retirement specialist Just Group. Indeed, the state provides more than half of the income for four out of five single people and more than half of pensioner couples.

Benefits like the Winter Fuel Payment and Pension Credit may also be included in this.

"If it weren't for the state pension and the generous annual uprating from the triple lock, which sees payments increase by whichever is higher out of earnings, inflation, or 2.5 percent," Lambert says, incomes "might not have been able to hold level with 2010 for so long."

The current value of the full new state pension is 22120 per week, or 11,502 annually. Next month, it will increase by 4.1 percent to 230.30 per week, or 11,975 annually.

Sixty-two percent of pensioners receive income from occupational pensions, according to DWP figures, while 17 percent receive income from personal pensions, including self-invested personal pensions.

With an average income of £6 per week, over 60% of retirees get their money from investments. Approximately 9% of pensioners who receive investment income make £200 or more per week from their investments.

Will pensioners' earnings rise in the future?

As the current generation of pensioners begins to phase out final salary schemes, future incomes may decline. But as more people receive workplace pensions through auto-enrollment and reach retirement, this could partially counteract the decline.

Meanwhile, incomes may increase if the triple lock is used to continue raising the state pension.

"It is likely to reveal a significant gap in retirement provision as the coming generations enter retirement and the age of defined benefit schemes comes to an end," Lambert observes.

"Auto-enrollment will eventually lead to people retiring with larger pensions, but for the time being the state pension continues to make up the largest component of pensioner incomes," says Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Could the state pension be altered by Labour?

Even though the state pension was exempt from the benefits overhaul and pensions were not mentioned in yesterday's Spring Statement, there are still many rumors about whether the triple lock will be maintained and whether the state pension may be means-tested.

"It is evident that the triple lock is playing a significant role in supporting the daily household finances of less wealthy retirees in the context of plateauing incomes," says David Brooks, head of policy at financial services consultancy Broadstone.

This is likely to spark conjecture that the government may take into consideration means-testing the state pension in order to make sure that the people who need state benefits the most receive them, given the limited public finances. A system that ought to be as simple as possible would only become more complicated as a result.

As for the triple lock, Lambert claims that its "growing burden on government coffers" makes a review all but inevitable.

But any change needs to be managed carefully," he continues. For millions of people, the state pension is their primary source of income and the single largest category of welfare spending.