The Triple Lock Plus: Only the Conservatives have a clear plan for pensioners

The Conservative Government have cut tax for working people by reducing National Insurance from 12 percent to 8 percent. Now they will cut tax for pensioners too.

• From next April, the Conservatives will increase the personal allowance for pensioners in line with the Triple Lock by introducing a new age-related allowance—a tax cut of around £100 for 8 million pensioners.
• They will guarantee in legislation that the pensioners’ personal allowance will rise in line with the highest of earnings, prices, or 2.5 percent so it is higher than the state pension in each year of the next Parliament: the new Triple Lock Plus.

This is delivering on a core Conservative value that those who have worked hard during their lives should have dignity and security in retirement. Labour will hit pensioners with a Retirement Tax by dragging the State Pension into income tax for the first time, raiding pensioners just like the last Labour government.

After committing to protect the Triple Lock earlier this year, the Conservatives will go further to boost pensioners’ incomes if they win the next election. In addition to uprating the State Pension in line with the highest of prices, earnings, or 2.5 percent, the tax-free personal allowance for pensioners will also rise by the Triple Lock—guaranteeing that the State Pension is always below the tax-free threshold. This means that pensioners will never pay income tax on their State Pension, as the Conservatives continue to deliver on their clear plan to provide dignity and security in retirement.

As a result of the Triple Lock Plus, the average pensioner will see an increase in the State Pension of £428 next year alongside an income tax cut of £95. By the end of the Parliament, this will be a boost of £1,677 a year to their pension and a further £275 a year tax cut.

The Triple Lock Plus builds on the Conservative Government’s strong track record of protecting people who worked hard all their lives after their retirement. The Conservatives first introduced the Triple Lock in 2011, which has seen the State Pension increase by more than £3,700 since they entered office—£990 more than if it had been uprated by prices, and £1,000 more than if it had been uprated by earnings since 2010.

Meanwhile, Labour have refused to back the Triple Lock Plus and would oversee the State Pension being dragged into income tax for the first time in history if they entered government.

Only Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have a clear plan to support pensioners and will take the bold action needed to deliver financial security and dignity in retirement. Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour would tax pensioners more, taking them back to square one.