£460 Triple Lock hike not enough 'even for those who get Full State Pension'

The projected £460 Triple Lock hike next April will "not be enough", an expert has warned. Even for those who are in receipt of the full state pension, Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey, has warned it may not help make ends meet.

Ms Morrissey warned that, despite the boost, “there’s every chance it’s not enough to placate those pensioners still reeling from the loss of the winter fuel payments, especially given how close this is edging to busting the personal allowance”.

“The loss of the winter fuel payment will be especially keenly felt by older pensioners on the basic state pension who receive larger payments, but have seen a smaller increase in their state pension as they are not on the new flat rate pension,” she continued.

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“Life is also tougher for those who get pension credit and the winter fuel payment, who won’t be getting a cost-of-living payment this November.” Broadstone head of market engagement, Simon Kew, agreed, stating: “While this will cushion the blow to many following the means-testing of winter fuel payments, the coming increase to energy bills and sustained rises in the cost of living since the pandemic will still be squeezing pensioners’ budgets."

“Given that the freeze to this threshold is expected to remain in place until 2028, it raises the spectre of the full state pension alone taking pensioners over it and into the realms of paying income tax during the next few years,” Ms Morrissey said. “If pensions are rising with price inflation at the point when the state pension eventually breaches the personal allowance, once tax is taken into account, retirees who get just the state pension will actually be worse off in real terms.

“Pensioners are already asking whether they should be in the frame for filling the gap in the public finances, and this isn’t going to quell their concerns.” Ms Morrissey said: "We need to see the state pension and the triple lock’s role form part of the government’s pension review, so pension provision can be assessed in a holistic manner that puts the state pension on a sustainable footing long term.

"People need certainty of what they will receive from the state – and when – in order to make sensible plans for their retirement.”