The government has shared an update on the pension triple lock after rumours swirled it could be means-tested like the Winter Fuel Payment. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is “committed” to the future of the state benefit
However, a report from The Telegraph revealed they could not guarantee if it would exist in its present form for the rest of the current Parliament.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also came under fire this week for suggesting she would at look at means testing it. Today, (Friday, January 17) Tory party chairman Nigel Huddleston claimed she had been “misinterpreted”, insisting it’s a topic Tories will discuss in the long-term.
The pension triple lock is in place to ensure the payments keep their worth in line with inflation and other cost pressures. First introduced in 2010, many claim the UK’s rising age demographic is making the policy increasingly unaffordable for the treasury.
In addition to this, other state benefits, such as Universal Credit, do not have as much protection against cost pressures.
Kemi Badenoch has come under fire for her comments made on state pensions
(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)
But over the past few days Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem MPs have all come out in favour of the scheme.
Asked by the broadcaster whether the UK can afford the triple lock, Mr Huddleston said: “Over the long term these are exactly the things we’re looking at, but the Conservative Party has a long and proud history of supporting pensioners, this is the whole point.
“In the speech yesterday as well, Kemi said that we need intergenerational fairness so we need to look at what we can do in terms of policy offerings for young people as well.”
He later added: “That’s not playing one person or one group off against the other, it’s about making sure that we make sure the whole country can be involved in policies going forward.”
Mr Huddleston said the Tories had not yet made any solid commitments on future policy, and would not make them “on the hoof”.
In a speech on Thursday, Mrs Badenoch said she wanted to offer more to “deeply despondent” young people in order to attract them towards voting for the Tories.
She suggested the UK was no longer as rich as it thought, there was a “refusal to live within our means”, and the next generation’s future could be at risk in order to “make our lives more comfortable”.
Mrs Badenoch was asked about means testing later during an LBC phone-in. A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch and her Tory Party chair have let the mask slip: they’d cut your state pension. The Conservatives are still in chaos, announcing policies on the hoof that would mean a raid on pension pots.”
The Government has come under fire for limiting the winter fuel allowance to only the poorest pensioners, but the spokesperson claimed “tough action” by ministers had paved the way for a rise in the state pension in April.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sir Keir is “committed both to the triple lock and the principle of people receiving a state pension based on the contribution they have made over their lifetime, regardless of wealth”.
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