Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham against scrapping the triple lock to fund his social care reforms, saying it would be "an absolute error".
Speaking to the Daily Express at Labour's conference in Liverpool, Ms Graham said: "We need a national care service. My mum was in hospital recently, and you could see that the bed blocking was causing additional problems. That is really clear that we need something of that nature."
She added: "I think where the difficulty comes is some of the rumour and speculation that some of this is going to be funded from the triple lock, and I think that would be an absolute error. We cannot have a situation where we're going to older people to say to them to pay for all of this."
Warning against 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'
Ms Graham warned against "robbing Peter to pay Paul" and pointed to the UK's pension spending relative to other major economies. She said: "We have got the lowest amount that we spend on pensioners in terms of GDP in the G7, we're the joint-lowest. I find it abhorrent that we're the joint lowest. And for me, you don't have to keep robbing Peter to pay Paul."
She questioned why the government keeps targeting the triple lock, saying: "Why aren't we looking at the wealthiest in our society? Why do we constantly keep going back to the triple lock because actually we're only just in a situation where maybe people can survive?"
Ms Graham said she does not want to be in a country "where they are taking money away from pensioners like that", adding: "I don't think that is a good way for us to fund the national care service. Andy hasn't said that, but of course, people around Government have intimated it, and I think that needs to stop."
Criticism of 'obsession' with targeting pensioners
Ms Graham also hit out at the "obsession" with targeting pensioners after Sir Keir Starmer scrapped winter fuel payments for most OAPs, a move he later U-turned on following fierce backlash.
She said: "We are in a situation where older people in Britain aren't massively well off. If there are very, very rich older people in Britain, they're taxed like everybody else – that's the system that we have.
"Why we keep being obsessed by going back to things like stopping winter fuel or indeed stopping the triple lock is beyond me because that isn't the well that we should be going to. What we should be looking at is wealth taxes and borrowing to invest as a country, so we can invest in our industries. We should not be penalising pensioners in any way, shape or form."
She added: "And in my experience, they're not massively well off. As pensioners come through in generations to come, they're probably going to be less well off, as we don't have the occupational pension schemes we used to have, we don't have many people now buying their own homes. This problem is going to get worse, not better."
Triple lock under scrutiny
The comments come after former Treasury minister Darren Jones sparked fresh questions over the triple lock after he suggested it could be ditched to pay for social care during an appearance on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting insisted that Labour is standing by its manifesto pledge to keep the policy in place for the current parliament. But he declined to say whether the guarantee – where the state pension rises each year by whichever is highest out of earnings growth, inflation or 2.5% – will feature in the party's next manifesto.
Critics argue that the triple lock is unaffordable and unsustainable, but those in favour insist it is a lifeline for many pensioners on the breadline. The Daily Express has an ongoing campaign to protect the triple lock.
