Overview
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the plan on Tuesday, Sept 29, saying the triple lock will be honoured for the rest of the current term and the uprating rule will change from April 2030.
- Under the new 'double lock' pensions would rise by prices or 2.5 percent, removing the automatic link to average earnings that the triple lock currently guarantees.
- Official forecasts point to wage-driven uprating of about 3.9 percent that is likely to determine the next increase in April 2027 and would raise the full new state pension to roughly £250.70 a week, or about £1,002 per payment period.
- Independent analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates the triple lock adds about £16 billion a year to state pension spending compared with uprating in line with earnings, which the government says could help fund a National Care Service.
- The proposal has split opinion, with campaigners warning it will hit pensioner incomes and others arguing it improves intergenerational fairness; the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget on 28 October is the next key moment for ministers to explain the mechanics and fiscal treatment of the change.