Elderly are back in triple lock limbo, says ex-minister ROS ALTMANN

Former pensions minister and campaigner Ros Altmann says the betrayal of state pensions should not be repeated.

I can hardly believe it, but next year’s state pension inflation is again in the air.

This is just not acceptable. It is a matter of honor and integrity that all previous promises of protection should be kept.

The life of retirees is not a toy and they have already known enough uncertainty.

The government must immediately reassure retirees, right here and now, that their inflation protection is guaranteed, no more uncertainty!

It should be unthinkable to betray retirees for the second year in a row during a cost of living crisis.

Millions of retirees are afraid and outraged that their meager state pension could again fall behind inflation, affecting their mental health.

Of course, 21st century Britain can afford inflation hikes for the lowest state pension in the developed world – it’s a political and moral choice and the government must not deny its word.

Retirees are still living on the increase of 3.1 percent compared to April last year.

Millions of retirees were betrayed this year when the 2019 election manifesto, the promise of state pension protection, was broken.

After battling through the pandemic, they are now battling the rise in the cost of living and unsure how they will survive if next year’s promised inflation hike is not met.

The basic pension for older retirees who reached state pension age before April 2016 and have not earned additional state pension benefits is only around £7,500 per year.

Retirees don’t have it all right and millions – especially women – don’t have their own pension.

They depend almost entirely on their state pensions and struggle to make ends meet – not for luxuries, but for basic necessities, in the midst of a cost crisis.

Rishi Sunak, then chancellor, and Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, all promised inflation hikes for next year.

Retirees have trusted the government time and time again that these increases were safe. But apparently those guarantees are once again in doubt.

This is a political choice. The British state pension is about the lowest in the developed world.

Retired people no longer have the prospect of earning money from future work or finding money elsewhere. It would be morally and socially indefensible to fail them for a second year in a row, despite solemn promises that this would not happen.

State pension: Rishi Sunak, then chancellor, and Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, all pledged inflation hikes for next year

Retirees should not be hit next year to please the markets or balance the books. It is wrong to force retirees to bear the brunt of the austerity measures.

Of course there are some retirees, but that is not the majority. Indeed, many of the poorest retirees are too proud to claim the means-tested assistance available, and those just above the line are also struggling.

Just focusing on ‘the most vulnerable’ will exclude millions of people from aid. The promised inflation increases must be paid to every retiree as we try to reduce poverty and misery.

The government should immediately announce inflation increases for next year to reassure retirees who are once again in uncertainty.

This time and again approach is not worthy of a sensible government and undermines the whole foundation of our social contract of the welfare state, where people have paid for national insurance for decades to get a basic pension later on.

This is a matter of honor and national values. No more confusion or delay. Just do the right thing today.