The row over the State Pension triple lock has flared again after claims it has left pensioners better off while support for families with children has fallen behind. Figures cited in a BBC Radio 4 debate suggest pensioners have gained around £900 above inflation since the guarantee was introduced, while benefits for households with children are said to be about £1,400 worse off in real terms.
Triple lock under scrutiny
The triple lock, brought in in 2010, promises the State Pension will rise each year by whichever is highest: inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5%. Critics say that formula has steadily pushed more welfare spending towards older people, while younger families face rising living costs, housing pressures and weaker support from the benefits system.
The latest intervention comes from former Conservative pensions minister Lord David Willetts, now president of the Resolution Foundation, who argued the country should move away from the triple lock and refocus support. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today Debate, hosted by Nick Robinson, that the balance of welfare spending has shifted over the past 15 years.
Poverty picture has changed
“Of course, there are still poor pensioners. However, if you look at the poorest 10% of families, they are on lower incomes than the poorest 10% of pensioners,” he said. Lord Willetts said the traditional picture of pensioners as the group most at risk of poverty has changed.
“In the old days, it was absolutely the case. Old people were poor, and poor people were old,” he said. But, he argued, child and family poverty is now a bigger warning sign - and the system should reflect that. He said: “What we've been doing for the past 15 years is focusing an inevitably limited benefit budget on pensioners, and the losers, unfortunately, have been families with children.” His conclusion was blunt: “We need to rebalance.”
Defence of the policy
However, he was challenged by Sir Steve Webb, a former Liberal Democrat pensions minister who served in the coalition era and is now a partner at pensions consultancy LCP. Sir Steve defended the triple lock and rejected the idea the UK cannot sustain decent state pensions. “Governments are capable, unlike men, of doing two things at once,” he said.
Sir Steve also argued international comparisons show the UK has room to choose a more generous approach. Sir Steve said Britain spends a smaller proportion of national income on pensions and pensioner benefits than other developed countries, adding: “That's a choice.” He added: “We can afford a decent state pension. We have chosen to prioritise other things.” He also warned that workplace and private pension provision is not delivering enough stability for many people, meaning the State Pension remains crucial. “One leg is falling over. The private pension bit is falling over at the moment. That's why we need a firm leg,” he said.
Growing costs and future rise
The clash has drawn attention because both men were part of the same period of government when the triple lock began, yet now set out very different visions for what the pension system should do. The argument is unfolding as the State Pension bill continues to grow. The State Pension alone is forecast to cost about £146 billion in 2026/27, with total spending on pensioner benefits put at around £169 billion.
Pensioners could also be in line for another uplift next year. Current expectations suggest earnings growth will determine the increase next April, which would mean a rise of about 4.1% if the key figure holds - adding roughly £500 a year to the full new State Pension.
The BBC debate also heard from finance content creator Abi Foster, who said younger adults are being squeezed by housing costs and student loan repayments. She contrasted the experience of buyers in the 1990s, when homes might cost about three times a salary, with younger buyers now facing prices closer to ten times earnings. She questioned why younger workers should pay more tax to support retirees if they suspect they may never receive comparable support themselves.
Former TUC president Gail Cartmail urged caution about framing it as a simple generational fight, pointing out the role many older people play in unpaid care. “We have a whole army of pensioners who are unpaid carers, and I don't think that's factored as an economic contribution.”
