Older Britons demand triple lock saved heaping pressure on Tories

Britons have said that keeping the triple lock is the pension policy they want to see protected (Image: Getty) Nearly four in 10 pensioners (36 per cent) put committing to the triple lock at the top of their wish list when polled by financial planners My Pension Expert. Lily Megson, policy director at My Pension Expert, said: ‘With the party conferences just around the corner, we can expect to hear a lot of bold rhetoric from politicians. ‘But our research underlines that what Britons really want right now is certainty and clarity – from a financial perspective, they need to know the lay of the land if they are to plan effectively for the future. ‘ Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of the 2,000 people polled put ‘outlining measures to protect UK pension schemes from economic volatility’ in the top three favoured pension policies. Increasing the amount one can contribute to a pension pot each year while still receiving tax benefits from doing so was another desire among those surveyed. Creating new legislation to make it quicker and easier to transfer pensions between providers was also a popular wish. Lily Megson, policy director at My Pension Expert, said: ‘It’s certainly telling that the two most popular reforms on the list are committing to the triple lock and protecting pension schemes during times of economic volatility.  ‘The cost-of-living crisis has made preparing for retirement more challenging, meaning people will be actively seeking concrete policies aimed at providing support to those approaching or in retirement.’ Meanwhile campaign group Silver Voices has put protection of the triple lock at the top of its 2024 manifesto for the general election. More than 270,000 people have signed a petition backed by the Daily Express and Silver Voices calling on the Government to leave the formula untouched when it calculates the next pension increase. The state pension rises in line with the highest of CPI inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5 per cent. Dennis Reed, Director of Silver Voices said ‘Older people were largely ignored in the last General Election campaign, even though we represent a quarter of the electorate.  ‘The polite and non-political urgings of the old-age charities received very little public attention.  ‘This time we are going to demand that the challenges facing older people are aired and debated.  ‘The manifestos and promises of the political parties will be analysed against the Silver Manifesto, and older people will be advised accordingly to help them to decide how to vote.  ‘The silver vote will have to be earned this time and Silver Voices will be pushing the arguments robustly on behalf of senior citizens.’ Sign the petition at  https://www.change.org/stick- with-the-triple-lock