petal53
The Conservative/LibDem government introduced the triple lock in 2010. Labour did not try to protect pensions during the Blair years, and in fact in 1999, Gordon Brown induced anger from both pensioners and others, after his derisory 75 pence per week pension increase. People do indeed have short memories, but not all of us do. Labour have never supported pensioners, probably regarding us as Tory voting and as expensive and unproductive. The triple lock has protected pensions since 2010, but nonetheless it is clearly insufficient, bearing in mind that those on full time minimum wage earn approximately £20,000, and it will have gone up as a result of the budget. Pensioners definitely cannot survive on the state pension, either the new or the basic, and many having realised this have made some sort of other provision for their retirement. Luckily.
Interestingly, the Conservatives Shadow Chancellor has just said that triple lock is unsustainable in the "very long term" and, of course, he is right*.
In the Coalition government in 2010 it was the Liberals who led the work on Pensions. They had done the work and had a ready to go plan to bring us closer to the Australian system of only means-tested state pensions. To this end the Workplace Pension was also introduced - intended to replicated the Australian superannuation.
The triple-lock was only ever intended to be a short-term answer and I congratulate the Shadow Chancellor for his honesty. It's just a pity that the extreme capitalists running the Tory Party over the last 14 years didn't do more to continue the Coalition's plan.
Labour should be careful about attacking Mel Strides comments. If we follow the coalition's plans (which had little to do with Conservatives) the triple lock will have to be changed. Existing state pensions would rise only in line with average earnings eventually. Pension Credit should, however, continue to rise by the Triple Lock until it reaches an agreed Minimum Income Standard for pensioners. At the same time all the additional bits and bobs attached to Pension Credit and state pension should be phased out.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standard for pensioners is £17,200 a year (9 Sept 2024). I have seen government figures not very different from this. This would become the new Means Tested Pension/pension credit base line. Although Legacy State Pensions would remain larger numbers will move to this new means tested pension. The government might also decide mean-tested pensions should include some additional health, transport and utilities benefits as the Australian model does. However, these could be social tariffs provided by suppliers. The £10 Christmas Bonus would disappear.
* news.sky.com/story/tory-government-would-axe-unsustainable-triple-lock-on-pensions-shadow-chancellor-says-13267742
