State pension triple lock under threat: Fears grow policy to be scrapped - 'It's hard to justify!'

The British public don’t believe the triple lock on state pensions will exist in five years’ time, according to exclusive GB News polling.

The latest GB News People’s Poll has revealed 47 per cent of people expect the scheme to be scrapped within five years.

Under the triple lock, the state pension is supposed to increase each year in line with whichever is highest - inflation, average earnings or 2.5 per cent.

The guarantee means that retirees are heading for a 10.1 per cent increase to the state pension from next April.

The British public don’t believe the triple lock on state pensions will exist in five years’ time, according to exclusive GB News polling
GB News

Only 11 per cent of the public say they believe this policy will still exist in five years.

Forty-seven per cent of the public don’t believe the triple-lock on state pensions will still exist in five years, nine per cent prefer not to say and 33 per cent say don’t know.

Among Conservative voters, 16 per cent say they believe the policy will still exist in five years, whereas nine per cent of Labour voters believe the policy will still exist in five years.

An influential Conservative MP admitted to GB News "the next manifesto may well have a different commitment" on the state pension.

They said the triple lock was "no longer affordable", adding: "With people living to be older and older, and payments going up and up and up, it’s hard to justify.

"Part of the reason our taxes are so high at the moment is because of the cost of paying for the state pension."

In a statement responding to the poll, Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, told GB News:

"The triple lock will be playing a crucial role from April in helping to protect pensioners, especially those on low incomes, from the value of their State Pension being disastrously eroded by the soaring inflation we are seeing. This is exactly what the triple lock is for and it was a huge relief to millions of pensioners, and to Age UK, when the Government decided to reinstate this policy for the next financial year.

"It would be wonderful to live in a society in which there was no longer any need for a triple lock, but that day seems unlikely to dawn very soon as too many pensioners continue to find it really tough to make ends meet . On average the State Pension is still only worth about £10,000 a year, one of the lowest in the developed world. It's extremely difficult to live on that meagre amount, especially once you factor in the extra costs that come along in later life.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the Government will fulfil its pledge to protect the triple lock
Jordan Pettitt

"The fact is that with about one in six pensioners now living in relative poverty in the UK the triple lock still has a crucial role to play."

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, told GB News: "Silver Voices will be pressing all the political parties hard to ensure that the party manifestos for the next election include a promise to keep the triple lock.

"The lock was introduced to safeguard senior citizens from surges in inflation or earnings which had led to sharp rises in pensioner poverty in the latter half of the last century.

"The suspension of the triple lock for 2022 resulted in a loss of about £10 a week for every pensioner at a time when food and energy inflation has gone through the roof.

"Our massive petition, with over 300,000 signatures, which persuaded the Government to restore the lock, showed the breadth of public support for this vital safeguard."

Retirees are heading for a 10.1 per cent increase to the state pension from April, after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the triple lock is being protected.

During his autumn statement, Mr Hunt said the Government will fulfil its pledge to protect the triple lock, meaning that the state pension will increase in line with inflation.

The full new state pension is currently £185.15 per week – so a 10.1 per cent increase would push that figure up to £203.85.