Senior citizens had hoped they could be set for an 8% increase due to a leap in average earnings in the country due to Covid-19.
But there is now to be a one-year suspension of the triple-lock formula used by the Government.
The state pension usually increases in line with the rising cost of living seen in the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation; increasing average wages; or 2.5% - whichever of those three is highest.
But Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey announced that the average wages component would be disregarded in the 2022-23 financial year.
She said the figures had been "skewed and distorted" by the average wages rise, which she described as a "statistical anomaly".
She said the change meant that the state pension would still increase, but less quickly, and the triple lock would return the following year.
The Work and Pensions Secretary was "anticipating an unusual change in earnings" due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She added that earnings between May and July were expected to rise by more than 8%, so a one-year adjustment was needed.
The Conservatives had promised in their 2019 election manifesto to maintain the triple-lock formula.
Ms Coffey's announcement came just hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson breached another manifesto commitment by increasing National Insurance to fund health and social care.
Age UK said later that, if suspending the triple lock for a single year helped to get a Government deal on social care over the line then it was a price worth paying, but only if it really was just a one-off measure and not a "sneaky" way for Ministers to ditch the triple lock altogether.
The charity added: "With more than two million pensioners currently living in poverty, there's a strong case for keeping the triple lock as it is.
"However, most older people will understand if they receive only a relatively-modest state pension increase next April.
"It is, however, imperative that the triple lock reverts to normal next year to help all those pensioners on low and modest incomes who desperately need it."
At the moment, the new flat-rate state pension for those who reached state pension age after April 2016 is £179.60 a week.
Meanwhile, the old basic state pension for those who reached state pension age before April 2016 is £137.60 a week.
But even getting 8% more would not have meant our pensioners would be laughing all the way to the bank, as the UK state pension is one of the less generous in Europe.
