The average weekly wage in the UK is £457, said Simon Fraser, president of the Retirement Institute at Fidelity International. But in retirement Brits can expect to receive just £215 a week on average, which would be less than those working a 40-hour week on the minimum wage of £5.52 an hour. [Telegraph]

At todays exchange rate that works out at 270€ per week. To put that into context I have written before about how you can eat for 20€ a day in Almerimar (and although the prices have gone up a little you still can - just 4 beers a night though!), so that would be 100€ a week or 37% of your pension on enjoying a simple life with your friends.

It seems that the UK rate is significantly lower than many other places in the world:

In America and Germany, pensioners will expect to receive 58 per cent and 56 per cent of their current earnings respectively. Only Japan is on a par with the UK, with their pensions set to reach an average of 47 per cent of a worker’s salary.