Retirement boost as both Labor and Tory pledge to defend triple lock

Rishi Sunak's decision to keep the triple lock on next year means 12 million retirees will see a boost in their income. Credit: AFP

A Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said the Labor leader is also committed to the triple lock, and that will also be in his manifesto.

The promises represent an attempt by both sides to try to win the support of pensioners. ahead of expected elections next fall.

But keeping the policy going would add to the British's bloated Social Security bill and severely limit spending promises they can make in other countries.

Rishi Sunak's decision to keep the triple lockdown next year means that 12 million retirees will get a boost in their income. , while the state pension will increase by 7% to £11,342.

Retirees will therefore receive an additional £748 from April 2024, an increase that is projected to cost the Treasury an additional £748. 6 billion.

On the contrary, it has been estimated that raising the state pension through revenue rather than inflation would save the Treasury £11 billion over the next two years.

Mr Sunak put its reputation for bringing inflation down to control levels and lowering the overall level of public debt.

Sir Keir has made a firm promise that Labor will only announce full-cost policies and will not borrow day-to-day expenses, including social security.

p> Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said he is committed to the triple lock and it will be included in his manifesto. Photo: PA

The Office of Accountability said spending on benefits for the elderly will reach £136bn next year. of which £124bn will go to government pensions.

Triple lockdown was introduced by David Cameron in 2010 and has been applied every year since, except in 2022 when it was temporarily suspended.

< p>Since then, the average weekly wage of workers has increased by 44%, and state pension payments have increased by 60%.

Social security, including pensions, is the second largest government spending item after the NHS and is rising sharply as the population ages.

The Triple Lockdown was put on hold last year because wages soared when the country withdrew out of quarantine, sparking an economic boom.

Lise Truss considered abandoning the mechanism due to its cost during her brief tenure as prime minister, but ultimately decided to reinstate it.

But some Conservative MPs want Downing Street to reconsider, given rising costs and feared politics are further exacerbating intergenerational injustice.

Sir Edward Lee, a veteran advocate, lambasted the arrangement as «totally unaffordable» and warned that it would «bankrupt the nation.»

p>“We have to be honest with the people, and I think people are willing to listen to conservative governments that are willing to make very difficult decisions,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mr. Sunak said the struggle with inflation will have consequences for the people.

“Now I know that pushing inflation out of the system will not be easy. This will come at a real cost to people,” he said at the Policy Exchange's summer reception.

“What we're doing is difficult, but necessary. Fighting inflation relentlessly should be our immediate priority.”