Overview

• A single pensioner needs £43,900 in disposable income for a “comfortable” retirement today, rising to £58,860 by 2030 and requiring a gross £77,153 if income tax thresholds remain frozen.
• The freeze on personal allowances from 2021 through at least 2028 is exerting fiscal drag, pulling pension income into higher tax brackets without raising headline rates.
• The Office for Budget Responsibility warns that the state pension triple lock will cost an extra £15.5 billion by 2029-30, three times the initial forecast.
• The government has maintained the triple lock with a 4.1% uprating in April and pledges of up to £470 in 2025-26 and £1,900 over the parliamentary term.
• Policy experts have proposed means testing, raising the state pension age and expanding Pension Credit as potential reforms to ease the fiscal strain.