Britain’s new finance minister has refused to guarantee an increase in state pensions, leaving millions of pensioners worrying amid the cost-of-living crisis as the winter is approaching fast.
Jeremy Hunt, who replaced Kwasi Kwarteng as treasury chief only a few days ago following turmoil in the economy for weeks with the government’s so-called mini-budget, refused on Monday to make any commitments on “individual policy areas.”
Responding to a question in the House of Commons following a statement on the reversal of some of the main policies of the mini-budget, Hunt said decisions would be taken “through the prism of what matters most to the most vulnerable.”
His predecessor, Kwarteng, had pledged to maintain the triple lock – a policy that increases state pensions every year in line with the highest of three possible figures: inflation, average earnings, or 2.5%.
“I’m very aware of how many vulnerable pensioners there are and the importance of the triple lock but, as I said earlier, I’m not making any commitments on any individual policy areas, but every decision we take will be taken through the prism of what matters most to the most vulnerable,” Hunt said.
Inflation will probably be the highest factor this year and pensioners will get a minimum of 10% rise if the government does not scrap the triple-lock policy amid the financial crisis the country has found itself in.
The number of people receiving state pensions is 12.5 million as of February.
Source: Anadolu Agency