State pensioners face losing £442 a year if triple lock ends

Martin Lewis shares tips for boosting state pension

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Earlier today, the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was urged to commit to the Government’s promise to reinstate the triple lock on state pensions. The previous Prime Minister Liz Truss pledged to maintain the triple lock, which would see pension payments rise in line with September’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation. Despite this, the future of the triple lock looks unclear for the time being which could reportedly lose pensioners hundreds of pounds annually.

Despite promising as Chancellor to do the same, Mr Sunak’s office has not restated its prior commitment following his ascent to the highest office in the land.

Appearing in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister was asked by the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford MP about the decision to hike benefits in line with inflation.

Mr Sunak responded: “I always acted in a way to protect the most vulnerable. That’s because it is the right thing to do and those are the values of our compassionate party.

“I can absolutely reassure him and give him that commitment that we will continue to act like that in the weeks ahead.”

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On whether the triple lock will be implemented, the Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “I always acted in a way to protect the most vulnerable. That’s because it is the right thing to do and those are the values of our compassionate party.

“I can absolutely reassure him and give him that commitment that we will continue to act like that in the weeks ahead.”

Experts are warning that backtracking on the Government’s previous pledge could see state pensioners lose £442 on average.

Steve Webb, the former pensions minister and partner at LCP, voiced his concern over the “high risk” situation which would develop if the triple lock were to be scrapped.

Mr Webb explained: “When the triple lock promise was broken in 2022, the Government insisted that this was a one-off measure because of the special circumstances of the pandemic.

“It would be a high risk political gamble to break this manifesto commitment for a second year.

“Many pensioners have faced a big squeeze on their standard of living this year following a very low pension increase in April 2022 and would have expected the April 2023 increase to help to catch up on the big rises in the cost of energy and food.”

With the cost of living crisis in full effect, many older households were relying on a sizable boost to their state pension to get through the winter months.

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From this month, energy bills are expected to rise by 27 percent for the average household even with the energy price guarantee in place.

However, Mr Webb noted that a reversal of the Government’s promise will be a “double whammy” for vulnerable older people amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

On how much older households would lose, he added: “Breaking the triple lock could cost a single pensioner £442 per year.

“A reduced pension rise, combined with a cut in help on energy bills, could be part of a ‘double whammy’ for millions of pensioners.”

What is the triple lock?

The triple lock is the metric which is used to determine how much the payment rate for state pensions will go up by.

Payments are usually raised every April with the state pension being increased by either 2.5 percent, average earnings or inflation; whichever is the highest.

With inflation returning to a 40-year high of 10.1 percent, it is likely to be the amount that pensions will rise by.

If the triple lock were to be reinstated, the new state pension would rise from £185.15 per week to £203.85.

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