The pension triple lock might have to come under review as young families struggle to cope with the cost-of-living crisis, a former Cabinet Minister has warned.
Lord John Hutton, who served as Work & Pensions Secretary under Tony Blair, argued that the current model is becoming increasingly hard to “sustain” but stopped short of suggesting state pensions could soon be means-tested.
Speaking to Camilla Tominey on GB News this morning, Lord Hutton said: “I’ve said previously that the triple lock is going to be very, very hard to sustain.
“And I think that we’ve got to strike a fairer balance between pensioners being well-supported in their old age, of course because they have very limited opportunities to top up pensions with any earnings.
“But we’ve got to make sure that the welfare state is fair to young families with children too and it is a terrible thing that at the moment young families with children are the ones who are facing rising levels of poverty.
“So, this issue about the balance of spending in the welfare state has got to be addressed and we can’t sit back and ignore the needs of young families with children, it’s terrible to see them struggling.”
When asked whether pensions could soon be means-tested, the former Labour MP Barrow & Furness added: “I don’t think that is likely to be necessary, I hope it isn’t
“People have contributed through all their working lives, those people who are paying national insurance to a decent state pension, but I don’t think we can then rip up the rule-book and say I’m sorry we’ve changed our minds, you’ve paid your state pension but we’re not giving it to you.
“I don’t think that is playing by the rules.”
Rishi Sunak and his Cabinet colleagues are facing the difficult task of handing over another bumper state pension pay rise for the second year in a row.
Analysis has indicated that state pension is on track to increase by £700 next spring.
The triple lock, which the Tory Party promised to protect at the last general election, increases state pension payments at the start of every financial year in line with the highest of the previous September’s inflation, wage growth or 2.5 per cent.
The state pension jumped 10.1 per cent this year, the biggest rise on record.
Inflation looks set to remain high at around seven per cent in the third quarter of 2023, the Bank of England has previously forecast.
It means that the full new state pension could rise by an extra £742 to a high of £11,342 next April.
