Triple lock should be replaced, former pensions secretary suggests

George Thompson, Press Association Political Staff

The pensions triple lock should “probably” be replaced, a Tory former senior cabinet member has said.

Baroness Therese Coffey, the work and pensions secretary from 2019 to 2022, said the guaranteed 2.5% a year rise “probably seemed the right thing” when it was introduced but suggested it should be reconsidered.

Instead, Lady Coffey, who also served as deputy prime minister, said she would prefer “some kind of double lock”.

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government introduced the pensions triple lock in 2010.

It guarantees that the state pension goes up each year in line with either inflation, wage increases or 2.5% – whichever is the highest.

Addressing the House of Lords on Friday, Lady Coffey said: “I think sometimes the triple lock gets blamed for a lot of things.

“To some extent, I would actually probably prefer some kind of double lock.

“The 2.5% probably seemed the right thing at the time in order to achieve the policy outcome of getting pensions as a proportion of earnings up more quickly and it’s achieved that, I think, by and large.”

The triple lock has come under scrutiny in recent months, with concerns raised that it is too expensive.

Lord Jim O’Neill, an ally of Andy Burnham, suggested the bond markets would “respond favourably” to a Government that takes “credible action to deal with the excesses of the triple lock or the excesses of welfare spending”.

Former NatWest chairman Sir Howard Davies also said the country “can’t afford it” and the Government’s credibility will be “on the rack” if something is not done.

Lady Coffey’s comments came as part of a debate on a committee report on the UK’s preparedness for an ageing society, with peers from across the chamber calling for the end of the lock.

Fellow Conservative peer Lord Tugendhat said it was “much needed” when it was introduced but should be replaced “without further ado” while crossbench peer Lord Turnbull, former head of the civil service, branded the current system “frankly idiotic”.

He said: “We have a chaotic system generating random windfall gains, and they are always gains, according to the movement of earnings prices in particular years. The OBR has estimated that this could cost an extra 2% of GDP.”

Labour former home secretary Lord Reid of Cardowan said the report should “more forthrightly consider and challenge the triple lock”.

However, Lord Redwood, a Conservative former Welsh secretary, insisted the end would be a “great pity”, arguing it had helped reduce pensioner poverty.

Labour peer Lord Liddle, who introduced the report, said he felt “a little guilty” that it “didn’t directly address the triple lock question”, saying it is “obvious” that it needs to be examined.

He also described the country as “woefully unprepared for the future” of an ageing society.

“The lack of any published strategy on ageing is a worrying indication that the Government would prefer not to face up to these challenges as an immediate question, and that the UK is therefore woefully unprepared for the future,” he said.

Responding to the debate, Treasury minister Lord Pitt-Watson said the triple lock was part of Labour’s manifesto promises and “till the end of this Parliament, the triple lock remains”.

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