Axing state pension triple lock ‘has to happen at some point’

Axing state pension triple lock ‘has to happen at some point’

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The triple lock ensures the state pension rises each year by whichever is the highest of 2.5 percent, average earnings or inflation. However, the future of the policy came under doubt in the


last year, following the mechanism being temporarily halted in 2022. A projected increase of over eight percent due to warped earnings data as a result of COVID-19 was perceived as too


expensive. As a result, a much lower 3.1 percent increase was implemented instead, in the form of a double lock. However, the policy will be making a return in 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt


has confirmed. In his Autumn Statement, he said: “In April, the state pension will increase in line with inflation, an £870 increase which represents the biggest ever cash increase in the


state pension. READ MORE: STATE PENSION SET TO CHANGE IN 2023 - THE KEY EVENTS YOU CAN EXPECT The full new state pension is set to increase from £185.15 per week to £203.85 per week. The


basic state pension will rise from £141.85 per week, to £156.20 per week. The amount a person receives from the state pension will ultimately vary, and typically depends on their National


Insurance record. In 2023, Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, urged Britons to look out for October 18, 2023. This is the date at which September


2023 inflation will be announced, and could set the agenda for pension increases in 2024. She added: “Inflation is expected to be on its way down by this point, so we are unlikely to see


the blockbusting 10.1 percent increase to state benefits that we saw this year.  “However, if the triple lock is still in place and wage data is higher than inflation then pensioners could


be in line for an extra boost.”