I have had a number of constituents contact me about pensions.
The Conservatives introduced the Triple Lock in 2010 so the State Pension always rises by the highest of either earnings, prices or 2.5 per cent. As a result, pensioners got a £900 increase in the State Pension in April this year –an increase of 8.5 per cent. The State Pension has risen by £3,700 since 2010 in cash terms –£1,000 more than if it had been uprated under Labour’s plans since 2010.
We have also provided pensioners with Winter Fuel Payments, free eye tests, NHS prescriptions and free bus passes. This year we have cut tax for working people by reducing National Insurance from 12 per cent to 8 per cent. Now we plan to cut tax for pensioners so they have dignity and financial security. From next April, we intend to increase the personal allowance for pensioners in line with the Triple Lock by introducing a new age-related allowance for eight million pensioners and we will guarantee in legislation that the pensioners’ personal allowance will rise in line with the highest of earnings, prices or 2.5 per cent, so that it is higher than the State Pension in each year of the next Parliament: the new Triple Lock Plus.
On current forecasts, this will mean the State Pension increases by a further £428 in April next year to over £11,970; and increases by around £1,685 to £13,200 by the end of the Parliament. This will be funded through our plan to raise an extra £6 billion a year by clamping down on tax avoidance and evasion.
