Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the basis of retaining 2.5 per cent as one of the three levers of in the changed triple lock model.

The adjusted Triple Lock ensures that pensioners are protected from inflation spikes and ensures the State Pension continues to rise in a meaningful way every year - by a minimum of 2.5%.

We want to protect pensioners’ incomes in real terms, as well as relative to wages, and this adjustment ensures we are doing both. A pure earnings link could expose pensioners to sharp losses during inflation shocks, such as those experienced in 2022, and derisory increases when earnings growth is weak. Retaining inflation protection and the 2.5% floor avoids both of those outcomes.