According to the Treasury, next April’s Triple Lock system could raise the new full State Pension by more than £400 a year in cash terms, outpacing inflation. The internal working calculations seen by the BBC indicate that the state pension will be increased by average earnings figures, which will be released next week, leading it to hover at around £12,000 in 2025/26.
One can expect that pre-2016 retirees, who could have been qualified for the secondary state pension, will see the basic state pension increase by at least £300 a year to £9,000 in 2025/26 under the old system. However, the final decision on the uprating will be made by Secretary of State Liz Kendall before Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents her budget next month; Reeves has reaffirmed the government’s support for the Triple Lock until the end of this Parliamentary term.
The Triple Lock system is an expensive political promise which the public were promised by all of the main parties. It has been implemented on the back of a £130bn per annum pension credits bill. The Triple Lock scheme’s above-inflation generosity is emphasised by the government as a counterbalance to its choice to decrease or terminate the Winter Fuel Allowance for most homes.
However, campaigners and opposition parties argue that little effort has been made to assist hundreds of thousands of pensioner households, especially those in rural areas, who are living below the poverty line but will still lose their winter payments. About 1.6 million older people who live below the “poverty line” could face a risk of having their winter fuel payments removed, according to former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb
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