Ministers are thought to be looking at suspending the triple lock again for next year’s state pension increase sparking a furious response from broadcaster Carol Vorderman.
The state pension is predicted to increase 8.5 percent next April in line with the average earnings figure released yesterday, as inflation is currently well below this at 6.9 percent.
But Treasury officials are thought to be considering tweaking the policy for next year’s increase and going for a lower metric, based on average earnings without bonuses, which would be at 7.8 percent, saving the Government around £1billion.
Ms Vorderman hit out at the idea on Twitter, saying: “Tell you what….get it back from just a few of your crappy crony VIP PPE Lane deals, and leave the pensioners alone.”
With a 7.8 percent increase, the full new state pension would increase from £203.85 a week to £219.75 a week, or £11,427 a year.
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Experts have previously warned the soaring costs imposed by the sizable yearly increases due to the triple lock may soon make the policy unsustainable.
Jamie Sexton, head of Advice at True Potential, warned younger workers to not rely on the state pension for their retirement finances as the triple lock may soon disappear.
He said: “Many believe this to be unsustainable and that one day the triple lock could become less generous or even be scrapped altogether.
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“Those planning for their retirement should ensure they build up a personal pension large enough to sustain themselves independently of the state.”
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said a 7.8 percent increase would still provide a welcome boost for pensioners.
She said: “This still gives pensioners a healthy increase in their state pension, but brings further doubt around the future of the triple lock as the uprating measure for state pension long term.
“It has been tinkered with once before when the Government opted to use a double lock mechanism when wages spiked in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“If it can be done once, the door was always left open to it being done again. The triple lock has played a role in supporting pensioner incomes and protecting them from miserly increases in their state pension, but the time is coming to assess whether it remains the best approach with a review into the state pension and the triple lock’s role within it.”
The current full basic state pension is £156.20 a week while the full new state pension is £203.85 a week.
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