RESIDENTS now worse off than they were more than 50 years ago after the latest Government pension settlement.

RESIDENTS now worse off than they were more than 50 years ago after the latest Government pension settlement.

Elderly people across North Somerset and Somerset will be getting a lower proportion of the national average wage than in 1950, according to new research.

Figures released by the Liberal Democrats show that the increase means pensioners now receive only 15.9 per cent of the average wage, compared to 18.4 per cent in 1950.

Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate, Mike Bell, has labelled a 3.9 per cent increase of just £3.40 per week in the basic state pension as a 'disgrace'.

He said: "The Government must immediately restore the link between pensions and earnings as a first step towards a fairer pension.

"It has become a bureaucratic nightmare for pensioners and many others in our community."

Weston Senior Citizens' Forum chairman Ken Lacey has also hit out at the 'unfair' settlement.

He said: "We have the worst pensions system in the EU. Elderly people are not helped by the rising costs of food and fuel."

Last month an annual report by pensions' experts Aon said the UK state pension is the worst in Europe for the second year running.