The former Liberal Democrats and Conservative Party coalition government pensions minister has defended the triple lock rule, warning that scrapping it now "would be a disaster." Sir Steve Webb, who helped create the policy, said the triple lock cannot last forever but abolishing it immediately would trigger a retirement crisis.
Triple Lock Under Fire
Sir Steve Webb, now a legal partner at a law firm, commented: "The triple lock cannot last forever. But scrapping it now would trigger a retirement disaster." He added that the policy, which increases state pensions by the highest of inflation, wages, or 2.5%, is facing increasing challenges from think tanks and economists who deem it fiscally unaffordable and intergenerationally unfair.
Impact of Scrapping the Triple Lock
Mr. Webb argued that switching to an earnings link would cause the number of people falling short at retirement to rise by over four million to around 19 million. Linking to prices would push that figure even higher to 26 million, affecting more than three-quarters of the entire working-age population. He stated: "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."
Government Response
The article also notes that a Treasury minister has rejected Sir Tony Blair’s call to curb the triple lock and defended net zero policies after the former prime minister criticized Labour’s policy agenda. Dan Tomlinson said “things have moved on” since Mr. Blair was in office and insisted that state pension increases are sustainable long-term.
