Triple lock and improving NHS must be top priorities
KEEPING the pension triple lock and helping the NHS should be among the next government’s top priorities, older voters insist.
More than eight million over-65s put the triple lock in their top three priorities and almost seven million said improving GP access and reducing hospital waiting lists were also key, Age UK found.
It is further evidence that the successful Express campaign to keep the triple lock was worth fighting.
The charity is today releasing its blueprint for improving the lives of older people in the run up to the coming general election. It contains 52 policy recommendations covering different aspects of later life.
Caroline Abrahams CBE, charity director at
Age UK, said: “We found a clear consensus among older people that their top priorities at this election are maintaining the triple lock and improving the NHS.
“This is all the more understandable when you consider the impact of the two major shocks we’ve experienced in recent years: the cost-ofliving crisis and the pandemic. “These were tumultuous events whose after-effects endure to this day, and I am sure they have shaken public confidence in different but important ways.”
Less than a third of pensioners received the full 8.5% triple lock-secured increase on their retirement incomes this week, as reported exclusively by the Daily Express yesterday. It means two in three of the oldest and poorest pensioners – as many as eight million – will be £200 a year worse off.
The former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann is now calling for a review into the injustice, saying: “Politicians need to come clean about the problems of the triple lock.
“I am calling for a proper review of how we ensure all pensioners are protected, with fairer treatment for the oldest and poorest, who generally rely more on their state payments.” Age UK, in its blueprint, is calling on the next government to commit to the triple lock for the duration of the next Parliament.
It says: “A decent income provides dignity and security, and helps people stay independent and active.
“A warm home, nutritious food, occasional treats and being able to get out and about are all good for health and wellbeing, helping older people to make the most of later life.
“Unfortunately, many older people tell us this is not how things are for them today.
“We believe all older people should have an income that lets them live well without struggling to cover essential costs such as food and energy bills, having to watch every penny spent, or worrying that nothing is set aside for a sudden emergency, like a broken cooker.”
Other issues raised in the report are the shift to “digital first” and the cost-of-living crisis.
The charity said: “This general election really matters for older people. Worn down by the pandemic and cost of living crisis, many are yearning for a more positive future for themselves, their families and generations to come – and are eager to help bring it about.”