Andy Burnham has been urged to rule out £246.95 weekly payments for state pensioners under the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if he becomes Prime Minister. The Greater Manchester Mayor is widely anticipated to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader and PM following Starmer's resignation on Monday.
Triple Lock under scrutiny
Burnham has been told to scrap the Triple Lock as a priority, with £246.95 weekly payments from 2027 to 2028 currently forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, urged the next Prime Minister to tackle the issue when attempting to balance the books.
He said: "While avoided by successive Governments, politicians across the spectrum as well as think tanks are now increasingly questioning its long-term future and today’s political change creates the opportunity for an open and honest debate."
Options beyond keep or scrap
Cameron added: "Importantly, it’s not a simple case of keep it or scrap it – there are other options worthy of proper consideration. Recent comments from Mr Burnham, reaffirming he, if Prime Minister, would retain support for the triple lock, may provide short-term reassurance to today’s pensioners.
"But what’s needed from all major political party leaders is a longer-term vision for how the state pension can remain fair, affordable, and sustainable not for the next three years but for the next 30 years and beyond."
Intergenerational fairness concerns
With an ageing population and fewer workers supporting more pensioners, the current system is already under strain. Without reform, the triple lock will place an unprecedented burden on working-age taxpayers, raising serious questions around intergenerational fairness.
Cameron noted: "Aegon has long supported an amended form of the triple lock which would retain the principle of pensioners sharing in rises in the nation’s prosperity while introducing greater stability.
"Recently, year-on-year inflation and earnings growth have been unpredictable and volatile. A fairer approach might be to provide inflation increases as a minimum, with a further uplift if earnings growth has exceeded inflation over, say, three years.
"This would smooth out volatility, provide greater predictability for public finances, and preserve fairness for pensioners. Done properly, reform could be the saviour of the triple lock’s aims rather than an end."
Call for cross-party leadership
The debate now needs leadership, honesty and a genuine commitment to finding common ground across both political parties and generations, according to Cameron.
