The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been urged not to make a state pension rule change that could leave millions at risk. Sir Steve Webb, the former Liberal Democrats and Conservative Party coalition government Pensions Minister, has led calls to save the Triple Lock.
Triple Lock Warning
Webb said: "To find out how many people would fall short of a decent retirement if the triple lock was scrapped, I tabled a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Work and Pensions. I wanted to know what would happen if the triple lock was replaced by simply linking the state pension to average earnings or even just to inflation."
Mr Webb, who helped create the pledge, said: "If we scrap the triple lock and switch to an earnings link on the state pension, the numbers falling short at retirement rise by more than four million to around 19 million. With a link to prices they rise even further to 26 million – more than three quarters of the entire working-age population."
Mr Webb said: "In my view, if we end up in a situation where 19 million people (or more) are going to have to tighten their belts sharply when they can no longer work, then our pension system is simply not fit for purpose."
Political Reactions
It comes after former Labour Party leader Sir Tony Blair said if large increases in incapacity benefit along with the triple lock continues, "we’re going to create a situation where economically we’re not able to grow." He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that "at some point you’ve got to be able to stand up and have an honest debate with the public, which is to say, look, ultimately we’re probably taxing people too much, spending too much, borrowing too much at the moment."
In response, DWP minister Torsten Bell said: "The challenge for the essay is that it doesn’t have a project that remotely fits the time and place we are living in. Saying ‘AI’ is not the same as having a plan for Britain. This is in many ways an impressive attempt to engage with some of the big forces shaping our future. But, as Tony Blair would probably be the first to admit, governing requires a much grittier engagement with the world as it is, not as you might prefer it to be."
The triple lock ensures the state pension rises by the highest of average earnings, inflation, or 2.5%. Scrapping it could significantly impact retirement incomes for millions of Britons.
