0DWP update on state pension as minister says a triple lock ‘very much’ to remain – key details | Wales Online Follow walesonline:
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DWP minister Torsten Bell has said people are ‘wrong’ in two ways about the UK state pension triple lock
A triple lock will remain under pension changes, says DWP minister
- A DWP minister says a triple lock will remain under Andy Burnham’s state pension reforms despite widespread confusion.
- The minister, described as the ‘mastermind’ behind the changes, said many people are “wrong” about the proposed reforms to the state pension triple lock system.
- From April 2030, the Government will adjust rather than scrap the triple lock, with pensions rising by the highest of inflation or 2.5%, plus additional amounts to maintain value relative to earnings, he said.
- “We want to keep the core principles of ensuring a material rise every year, protecting against price increases, and ensuring that pensioners benefit as the economy grows – but to remove the permanent ratchet effect,” Mr Bell, Swansea West MP and DWP under-secretary, said.
- The reforms aim to deliver substantial savings of £15bn annually by 2040, rising to £50bn by 2050, whilst placing pensions on a sustainable basis.
- Mr Bell said claims the triple lock has reduced pensioner poverty were “wrong”, arguing it actually caused poverty levels to rise when introduced in 2011. And he said it was also wrong to say there would be no triple lock in future.
- Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to maintain the current system, telling the BBC the party’s policy is to keep the triple lock unchanged.
- READ THE FULL STORY: DWP state pension update as a triple lock ‘very much’ to remain in place
