Personal finance experts are calling for the state pension triple lock to go
All state pensioners warned ‘untouchable’ perk could be scrapped by DWP
All state pensioners have been warned an “untouchable” perk is “finally” under threat. Personal finance experts are calling for the state pension triple lock to go, amid the ballooning bill for the Labour Party government.
The Telegraph’s Dia Chakravarty said: “The case for pensioners to sacrifice their guaranteed yearly rise is now overwhelming.”
The triple lock guarantees that the state pension goes up each year in line with either inflation, wage increases or 2.5 per cent – whichever is the highest. The age at which millions of people can claim their state pension has started to increase from 65 to 67.
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In July 2025, the government’s official forecaster said the cost of the triple lock guarantee was set to be three times higher by the end of the decade than was originally anticipated when it began.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the annual cost is set to reach £15.5bn by 2030.
It said the cost of the state pension has risen steadily over the past eight decades, and now equates to £138bn.
Dia told the paper: “Billions need to be found, and they must come from the welfare bill. The only question now is whether the cuts fall on the state pension or elsewhere. It seems that having learnt its lesson from the backbenchers’ rebellion over the proposed disability cuts last year, Labour – through coordinated interventions from MPs – is laying the grounds for slaying that holiest of cows.
“If they succeed, expect a degree of outrage from Reform and the Conservatives. But they will know, just as we will, that Labour will have done any future government an enormous favour.”
“Over the 15 years it has been in operation, the triple lock on the state pension has significantly reduced pensioner poverty,” Michael Taylor, an economist at Rothschild and Co Redburn, said.
“It has also helped bring average pensioner incomes close to those below retirement age.”
“With pressure for increased public spending, notably on health, defence and debt interest, the triple lock is a luxury we can no longer afford,” said Mr Taylor.
The policy, he feels, “needs to be reformed or preferably abandoned”.