The state pension is set to rise by around £450 next year in order to accommodate changes to the winter fuel payments, the government has confirmed.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the changes today and said she would announce the exact amount pensions would rise by during the Autumn Budget announcement on October 30, The i reports.
In June, Labour announced it was scrapping the Winter Fuel payment for 90% of pensioners, amounting to around £200-300 a year.
The move was wildly unpopular, but deemed necessary by the government in order to fix a £22bn ‘financial black hole’ in public spending.
When asked by reporters today whether she was prepared to compromise on the cut, Reeves said: ‘In July, when I announced that difficult decision, I did so because of the inheritance we faced from the previous government, £22bn black hole in the public finances, not just one year, but years into the future.
‘And in July, I announced £5.5bn worth of savings to try and bring that down. But as you can see, there is still a gap between the black hole that we inherited and what we would need to do to close that black hole.’
But the Chancellor also stressed that pensioners would still be better off after increasing the amount of state pension this year and promising it will rise again next year too.
She said: ‘I will announce the increase in next year’s state pension at the Budget, but it’s likely to be in the region of £450 more next year.
‘So you can see, because of the commitment to the triple lock, the state pension will go up by more than winter fuel every year, I think it’s set to go up by £1,700 during the course of this Parliament.’
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