Burnham pledges to scrap pension triple lock from 2030 

LIVERPOOL, England ― U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham Tuesday pledged to scrap the controversial pension triple lock by 2030, replacing it with a new mechanism that he says will fund his national care service. 

Under the new system, the state pension would no longer rise by earnings if they are the highest each year, instead rising by a “double lock” of at least an increase in inflation or 2.5% annually. 

Burnham told the Labour Party conference that he will ensure that the state pension also holds its value relative to wage growth, the third aspect of the “triple” lock he wants to drop, in the long term. 

Any changes would come after the next election, which will need to be held in 2029 at the latest. 

“This change will generate significant savings, which we will use to build up our National Care Service,” Burnham said. 

“Some may not realise it, but older people with nothing more than the state pension or only a little more, can find themselves paying care charges today. Under my plan, this will no longer happen.”

The Labour Party estimated in a note following Burnham’s speech that the changes would save £15 billion per year by the end of the 2030s, rising to £50 billion a year by 2050.

The triple lock is divisive and has been called “unsustainable” by economists as it costs the Treasury around £16 billion a year and is set to rise further as inflation and earnings increase.

However, Jonathan Cribb, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said that Burnham’s changes won’t fund his social care plans. 

“It is great news that Andy Burnham has neutered the worst element of the triple lock,” he said. “Better reforms were available, but this one is a big improvement. It will not, however, be the answer to funding universal social care.”