UK State Pension triple lock may mean pensions increase by 8% for the lucky ones

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Paul Swain

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Jun 23, 2021, 5:44:22 AM6/23/21

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Hi Everyone!

Apparently Boris Johnson has confirmed that he won't be changing the UK State Pension triple lock, even though this may mean that pensions increase by 8% for those lucky enough to get the increase. This will cost the UK Treasury £4 billion!

There's a report of Boris' commitment to the triple lock in https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-minister-says-pretty-sure-pension-triple-lock-will-stay-2021-06-21/

There's an explanation of what is going on in https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-9696291/Will-triple-lock-push-state-pension-190-year.html

I got the 8% increase from a Financial Times article https://www.ft.com/content/ce89ccba-4b3e-4baf-a479-86c0b06d24eb that you probably won't be able to read as it's behind a paywall. 8% is the increase average UK earnings that it is estimated will apply in July 2021, which is the date used for the triple lock increase.

The Takeaway for Us: Seems to me that if Boris reckons the UK can afford a £4 billion increase in the UK State Pension bill, then he can afford to increase our pensions too.

So please make sure that you tell your Australian Federal MPs and Senators how flush with cash the UK seems to be, and urge them to take some effective action to unfreeze our pensions. They missed the chance to use the Australia - UK Free trade Agreement to resolve this issue, so we need them to take action now when the UK is splashing the cash around for the lucky ones. It's no longer good enough for Australian politicians to claim that they are continually raising the issue with their British counterparts - which is the response that we usually get from them when we write - we need some effective action for once.