‘The Chancellor should be taking measures in the Budget to boost pension saving, not undermine it’

THERE are plenty of people who say that we “cannot afford” to maintain the triple lock on the state pension.

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But very few people have focused on what would happen if the state pension were to rise more slowly in future.

Figures I obtained from the Department for Work and Pensions, using the Freedom of Information Act, show a stark picture.

If the triple lock carries on, the Government thinks that around 4.6 million people in work today will fall short of even a basic “minimum” standard of living in retirement.

That's obviously 4.6 million too many, but is only around one in seven of today's workers.

But if the triple lock goes, the situation could get much worse.

If the pension in future was linked drop, the Chancellor should be taking measures in the Budget to boost pension saving, not undermine it.”

Sir Steve's warning comes as Ms Reeves has been urged to scrap the triple lock as she scrambles to fill the “black hole” in the nation's finances ahead of next week's Budget.

The Growth Commission think tank wants the state pension to be linked only to average earnings as part of a plan to cut government spending by £105billion a year by 2030.