The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has described the proposal from former pensions minister, Steve Webb to retain the triple lock for those who retired before April 2016 and give new retirees a simple earnings link as a “disaster for future generations”.
Webb, who was pensions minister from 2010 to 2015, has proposed that the ‘triple lock’ system for state pensions be scrapped owing to the perceived expense. The triple lock currently sees the state pension rise in line with wages, inflation or by 2.5% – whichever is highest.
Jan Shortt, NPC General Secretary said: “This is typical of Steve Webb. From the man who created a two-tier state pension system, we now have the idea of a two-tier indexation system.
“He should know that the state pension remains one of the least adequate in the developed world, one in six pensioners live below the poverty level and many more have an income of less than £11,500 a year.
“Even with the triple lock in place, the state pension is still lower than it would have been had the link with earnings not been broken in 1980, and millions of future generations of pensioners are going to increasingly rely on the state pension in their retirement as their occupational pensions decline. Webb’s plan would be a disaster for future generations.”
The Conservative Party have so far refused to commit to maintaining the current system for future generations. Labour has pledged to keep the policy in place throughout the next parliament.
