State pension: Rishi Sunak under more pressure on Triple Lock as 'alarm bells ring'
The State Pension triple lock guarantees an increase each year by the highest of three main components: inflation, average earnings or 2.5 percent. The policy, it has been suggested, could be under threat due to skewed wages data as more people get into employment – predicted to reach eight percent. Mr Sunak appeared to suggest the policy could be up for debate when he stated the outcome would be fair for “both pensioners and taxpayers” last week
“The triple lock costs the government around £0.9 billion for every one percent rise, so Rishi Sunak may still be hoping for an easing in average earnings ahead of the all-important July figure, published in September, but time is running out.
“Without adjustments to the triple lock formula, the current trajectory of average earnings is expected to trigger a bumper rise to the state pension of potentially over eight percent at a cost of around £7 billion next year and in every future year.”
The indications by the Chancellor recently have led to concerns about the future of the policy.
Mr Sunak acknowledged in an interview with the BBC that “intergenerational fairness” was an important matter the Government would be considering.
