FT Consumer Editor Urges UK to Scrap Pension Triple Lock as Costs Could Hit £40 Billion
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Sep 12
FT Consumer Editor Urges UK to Scrap Pension Triple Lock as Costs Could Hit £40 Billion
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Sep 12
Summary
Claer Barrett argued the UK should end the state pension triple lock, saying the guarantee has become unaffordable and unfair to younger workers ahead of the October 28 Budget.
Since 2011, the policy has raised pensions each April by the highest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5%, and the state pension now accounts for 45% of welfare spending.
Barrett said an ageing population and high borrowing costs are intensifying pressure on Chancellor John Healey to curb spending, with the IFS estimating the triple lock could add £40 billion a year by 2050.
She framed the issue as generational imbalance, arguing younger workers face punishing tax burdens while funding benefits many better-off pensioners also receive, including homeowners with private wealth.
The piece points to a possible alternative use for savings: the British Chambers of Commerce this week backed replacing the triple lock with inflation uprating and using the money to cut employers' national insurance for under-25s.