Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he was “not making any commitments” on the pension triple lock, just weeks after his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng reiterated the government’s commitment to this safeguard.
In the House of Commons yesterday (17 October), Labour MP Emma Hardy asked whether the state pension would rise with inflation in April 2023 and whether he could re-commit to it.
The triple lock promises an increase in the state pension pension by whatever is highest - earnings growth, consumer price inflation growth, or 2.5 per cent a year.
With annual inflation growth hovering around double digits, well above wage growth which sat at 5.4 per cent in August, this promise would cost the government at a time when it is trying to reel back with tax cut reversals and spending cuts.
Hunt said he was “very aware of how many vulnerable pensioners there are and the importance of the triple lock”, but that he was “not making any commitments on any individual policy areas”.
"Every decision we take will be taken through the prism of what matters most to the most vulnerable."
The latest inflation figures are due to be published tomorrow (October 19). Economists polled by Reuters expect the UK consumer price index to rise to 10 per cent for the year to September, from 9.9 per cent in August.
Senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Helen Morrissey, said there will be many pensioners banking on this increase, especially after last year’s increase of just 3.1 per cent “was rapidly swallowed up by rising inflation leaving many people struggling to cope”.
She added: “We’ve already had far too much uncertainty about whether the triple lock would be applied.
“Just a couple of weeks ago then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was forced to reiterate government commitment to the triple lock after a colleague again refused to confirm if it was going to be used.
“The fact that the new chancellor seems reluctant to confirm the triple lock is concerning.”
Morrissey concluded that the state pension “uprating” is usually confirmed in November, which means there will be “an anxious wait for many pensioners to see what they will get”.
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
