State Pension: Triple Lock

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Dodds of Duncairn]

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to change the “triple lock” guarantee for state pensions.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Sherlock) (Lab)]

My Lords, our commitment to the triple lock for the entirety of this Parliament means that spending on people’s state pensions is forecast to rise by over £31 billion. As a result, the yearly state pension will have increased by up to £1,900 by the end of the Parliament. Protecting the triple lock, even in the current economic climate, shows our commitment to pensioners.

[Lord Dodds of Duncairn (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for that Answer and for her commitment to the triple lock. Does she understand the concern among many recipients of the state pension about the long-term future of the triple lock, given a number of recent developments? First, there was the appointment of a Pensions Minister who has described the triple lock as “silly”, “messy” and something that needs to be replaced. Then the leader of the Opposition said last week that her party wants to explore greater means testing of government support, which has given rise to some speculation on this issue.

Many pensioners have already suffered as a result of the loss of the winter fuel allowance, which came completely out of the blue and was not in the manifesto. Given that the UK state pension level is one of the lowest in the developed economies of the world, relative to average earnings, can the Minister give a long-term commitment that the triple lock will remain as long as her party is in power?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, I am certainly not going to answer for the leader of the Opposition. I will allow others who are rather better qualified than I am to do that. But I can assure her that the idea of means testing the triple lock, even if its meaning were clear, is not something we on these Benches embrace.

I can tell the noble Lord very clearly that we have a manifesto commitment that the triple lock will hold for the entirety of this Parliament. That is a huge commitment. The noble Lord mentioned winter fuel payments. Means testing those meant that a number of pensioners lost a sum of £200 or £300. By contrast, the amount of money we are investing in the state pension will mean that the annual rate will go up by up to £1,900 by the end of this Parliament.

The comments by my colleague, the Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell, were made as a private individual when he was the head of a think tank. It is the job of heads of think tanks to think big ideas and to talk about them. However, I assure the House that Minister Bell, along with me, is fully committed to the triple lock and the Government’s commitment to it. I hope the nation’s pensioners will be delighted to hear that.