‘Don’t make OAPs choose between heating and eating’: MPs are urged not to suspend pensions triple lock when they vote today

• MPs urged not to suspend pensions triple lock when they vote on the issue
• The mechanism ensures the state pension rises by inflation, earnings or 2.5%
• The Chancellor wants it suspended as last year’s 8% rise was because of Covid

MPs have been urged not to make the elderly choose between ‘heating and eating’ by suspending the pensions triple lock in a Commons vote today.

The mechanism ensures the state pension rises by inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest. 

But the Chancellor wants to suspend the earnings link for a year because last year’s rise of eight per cent was artificially boosted because of the effect of the pandemic.

Earlier this month, the House of Lords voted to keep the triple lock. 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) wants to suspend the pensions triple lock for a year because last year’s rise of eight per cent was artificially boosted because of the effect of the pandemic

The House of Commons will today vote on the same measure – and Conservative MPs are on a three-line whip to reverse the Lords vote and limit next year’s pension rise to inflation or 2.5 per cent.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: ‘We cannot have a situation in which unforeseen cost pressures result in the poorest having to choose between heating and eating.’

Former Tory pensions minister Baroness Altmann, who put forward the Lords amendment, said last night: ‘Do they really think it is right that Britain, with the lowest state pension in the world, can afford to cut taxes on banks and alcohol but can’t keep its promises to protect pensioners?’

The Lords amendment would see pensions rise by about 5 per cent, to take account the effects of the pandemic.

Baroness Altmann added: ‘The Government is imposing three-line whip.

‘Only if enough Tories are willing to do the right thing and agree it is right to cut pensions for millions of the poorest people in our country, with no other money, in the eye of a cost of living storm, can this pass.’

Charities say that limiting the pensions rise will hit older people because inflation has increased in recent months – causing a cost of living crisis.

Source: Read Full Article