Millions of pensioners will get around £850 pay boost, Rishi Sunak vows
MILLIONS of pensioners will get a pay bump of around £850 despite the cost to the public purse, Rishi Sunak promised last night.
The PM vowed to honour the triple lock which hikes the state pension by whatever is highest – earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
Wages are now rising faster than prices at a rate of 7.8 per cent and will likely reach 8 per cent next month which will be the figure used for April’s annual increase.
There have been fears Mr Sunak could axe the triple lock to save the Treasury squeezed coffers around £2billion.
But asked if he was committed to the policy, he told ITV: “Yes, I always seem to get asked this in the summer, of course the government is committed to its policy on the triple lock.
“Now there is a statutory, a legal, process for determining the increase in pensions and benefits that happens in the autumn and that’s where those final decisions are made.”
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Some 12.5million OAPs on the state pension currently receive an average £204 weekly, meaning an 8 per cent rise would give them an extra £847 per year.
Last year they bagged a whopping 10.1 per cent boost due to rippling inflation.
Keeping the triple lock is a Tory vote winner to appeal to older people who benefit.