State pensioners will be handed £1,000 each by Labour government
State pensioners will see payments increase by £1,000, the new Labour Party government has said. The Labour Party government has pledged to keep the triple lock which has provided big pay increases over the past two years.
Health minister Andrew Gwynne said in response to a question in Parliament: "Through our commitment to protect the triple lock, over 12 million pensioners will benefit, with many expected to see their state pension increase by more than £1,000 over the next five years."
Mr Gwynne said in response: "The Government is committed to a preventative approach to the public’s health. Keeping people warm and well at home, and improving the quality of new and existing homes, will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives, and reducing pressures on the National Health Service.
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"In deciding on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Government had regard to the equality analysis, in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements." Mr Gwynne commented: "Support includes delivering the £150 Warm Home Discount for low-income households from October 2024, extending the Household Support Fund with £421 million, to ensure local authorities can support vulnerable people and families."
The coalition government announced the triple lock guarantee in 2010 and it was implemented from the 2011/12 financial year. The measure ensures the state pension rises each year in line with which measure is highest out of the following: 2.5%, average wage growth between May and July (which stands at 4% for the three months to July), inflation using the consumer prices index measure in the year to September (which was 10.1% in 2022 and 6.7% in 2023).
The triple lock has been applied almost every year since, with the only exception being in 2022/23, when the earnings part of the triple lock was temporarily removed.