Pensions triple lock to be reinstated

The triple lock guarantee on pensions that was suspended for the current 2022-23 tax year is to be restored from April 2023. In September 2021, the government announced that its triple lock guarantee on pensions was to be abandoned for one year due to unprecedented fluctuations to earnings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The triple lock guarantee was first introduced in 2010 and had remained in place until April 2022. The guarantee had seen the full yearly State Pension increase by over £2,050 in this period. The triple lock is the mechanism used to calculate increases to the state pension each year. Under the triple lock guarantees the basic state pension rises by whichever is the highest out of average earnings growth, inflation or 2.5%.

The confirmation that the government will reinstate the triple lock from April 2023 means that the state pension increase will be based on the reading of the consumer price index (CPI) for September 2022. Based on current forecasts this is likely to be significantly higher than the forecast inflation rate for 2023-24 and likely to be in the range of a 10% increase.

The change was announced in Parliament by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and remains subject to the Secretary of State’s review. This decision will bring some cheer to many of those in receipt of the State Pension especially following the changes this tax year and the inflationary pressures affecting the real value of their pension.