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Jessica Beard 04 September 2021 5:00am BST The “triple lock” on the state pension is looking increasingly likely to be weakened as the Government tries to rein in an enormous benefits bill
caused by the distorting effects of the pandemic. Although changing the formula by which pensions are increased would require a vote in Parliament, it is expected Tory MPs will fall into
line. A number of backbenchers who represent constituencies with the oldest populations in Britain said they would not stand in the way if Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak tamper with the way
the lock is calculated to save billions of pounds in payments. Duncan Baker, Conservative MP for North Norfolk, which has the largest proportion of pensioners in Britain, said he would
support the use of a lower figure for wage growth to avoid distortions created by the pandemic. “An electorate will forgive a government for many things, but not for losing control of public
spending,” he said. The Treasury Committee, an influential group of cross-party MPs, has repeatedly warned about the unaffordability of the triple lock next year. Mel Stride, chair of the
committee and the Conservative MP for Central Devon, urged the Chancellor to temporarily suspend the wages element of the lock. Pensioners have hit out against the breaking of a Conservative
manifesto pledge, warning that it would be “unfair” and “immoral”. While you may have no control over whether the triple lock remains in place, there are three simple things you can do now
to boost your pension. 1. FILL IN ANY NATIONAL INSURANCE GAPS The full state pension is only paid out to those who have at least 35 years of NI contributions. Anyone falling short can boost
the amount of state pension they receive by making a one-off payment to HM Revenue & Customs. The full state pension is £179.60 a week. There are several reasons someone may have missed
out on contributions, such as if they were employed but earning too little. Only those paid more than £184 a week will pay towards NI. Those living abroad or who are self-employed but do not
pay contributions due to small profits, may also have missed payments. It costs £15.40 to pay for a missing week of NI, known as “Class 3 National Insurance”. This adds up to £880.80 for an
entire year. Anyone making up for the previous two tax years must pay the original rates for those years. Topping up the state pension Gaps in National Insurance payments can be filled with
credits for periods of unemployment or caring for children or elderly relatives. Always check your state pension forecast to avoid needlessly paying for top ups. 2. DEFER YOUR PENSION
Anyone over the state pension age can increase how much they receive by delaying the start date or putting payments on pause. The pension they will get once payments start or resume
increases by 1pc for every five weeks deferred. Someone entitled to the full new flat-rate state pension of £185.15 a week who deferred for a year would receive an extra £19.25 a week. An
earlier option to take a lump sum no longer exists. The state pension 3. CHECK AND CHECK AGAIN The complexity of the pre-2016 system led to hundreds of thousands of women being shortchanged
for decades – 200,000 women who were underpaid the state pension for years are now due refunds totalling £2.9bn. Large numbers of elderly, widowed and divorced women were forced to get by on
a reduced stipend for years thanks to a government oversight.