The UK state pension could rise to around £140 a week, far more than at present, it has been reported.

The proposal, to be detailed in a Green Paper before the end of the year, would particularly benefit women, the Daily Mail has said.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed there would be proposals for reform later this year and said the aim was to provide a "decent" pension.

The plan would end the indignity of means testing and, according to coalition sources, pay for itself, largely by reducing bureaucracy, the newspaper reported.

The present basic state pension is paid at £97.65 for a single person and £156.15 for a couple with a means-tested top-up for the poorest to give every pensioner a minimum income.

A new 'single tier' pension which would replace all existing payments would give an income of £7,280 per year or £14,560 for a pensioner couple, if paid at £140 a week, the newspaper said.

The move would be particularly good for women, who often fail to qualify for the full basic pension because they have stopped working to bring up children, and lack sufficient National Insurance contributions.

Instead it would be based on residency in Britain, it said. The new pension would come in towards the end of this Parliament, in 2015.

A DWP spokeswoman said: "The Chancellor has confirmed that the Government will improve the quality and accessibility of pensions in the Spending Review period.

"We will be bringing forward proposals for reform in a Green Paper later this year. Our aim will be a simple, decent state pension for future pensioners, which is easy to understand, efficient to deliver and affordable."

Source: Press Association