Labour pledges to guarantee pensions triple-lock
THE TRIPLE-LOCK guarantee on state pension increases will be protected up until 2025 if Labour wins the next election, the Opposition has vowed.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has put the commitment on a pensioners’ pledge card, along with other promises aimed at wooing older voters.
However, he got a rough ride from pensioners on a visit to Coventry in the West Midlands who asked why, if pension pledges were such a good idea, Labour had failed to introduce legal protections when in power.
Sandra Winstanley, 71, a retired shop worker, asked: “Why didn’t you do that years ago, when you were in power?”
Mr McDonnell said: “Well, that’s exactly it – you learn a lesson because what we said is we support the triple-lock.
“Let’s put it in law now, because the one thing you don’t want is it being torn up again.”
Labour is also promising compensation for women hardest-hit by increases in the state pension age, protection for elderly Britons living overseas, and a commitment to keep winter fuel payments and free bus passes.
The triple-lock mechanism guarantees that the state pension increases annually by the highest measure out of average wages, inflation, or 2.5 per cent.
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement gave a signal that while the triple-lock is safe for now, it may not be immune from cuts in the longer term – which Labour believes offers the opportunity to win over older voters.
The party said the commitment to maintain the triple-lock would increase pensioners’ incomes by at least £650 between 2021/22 and 2023/24, compared with increasing the state pension in line with inflation.
House of Commons Library analysis showed that for those on the basic state pension, the triple-lock will be worth £652.60 over the period, while for those on the new state pension the guarantee will be worth £852.80.