The latest triple lock figures show new state pensioners could be handed a £515 uplift next April. Under the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) triple lock mechanism, the state pension rises each April by either inflation, 2.5 per cent, or wage growth.
The DWP uses whichever is highest. With inflation currently at 2.6 per cent, it looks like wage growth - at 4.1 per cent, according to new figures released today - will be used.
This means the current rate for men born after 1951 and women after 1953 would rise from £241.30 a week to £251.19, with a £9 hike. It works out at £515 a year.
Burnham's Commitment to Triple Lock
New Labour Party Prime Minister Burnham has committed to keeping the triple lock pension and allowing pensioners to escape paying income taxes despite the policy being opposed by swathes of economists and MPs.
Burnham said he would keep the triple lock pension, the mechanism that ensures the taxpayer-funded state pension rises by whichever is highest out of wage growth, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
He said it would be “very damaging” to break from Labour’s manifesto commitment, adding that an initial decision to scrap winter fuel payments “still comes up on doorsteps a lot here in Makerfield”.
Cost and Criticism
The Office for Budget Responsibility said the policy cost three times more than initially estimated since its introduction by George Osborne, claiming it was “unsustainable” for public sector debt.
The sitting Manchester mayor also said he backed Rachel Reeves’ policy to allow pensioners to escape paying income tax as the state benefit rises above the personal allowance threshold. The state pension will rise above £12,570 from next year.
Reaction from Financial Experts
But Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, warned he had “mastered the art of the non-specific, positive answer” ahead of entering Number 10 Downing Street.
