Response to calls for the State Pension triple lock to be scrapped

Age UK responds to the Work and Pensions select committee calling for the Stat Pension triple lock to be scrapped.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK Charity Director said: 'The progress in reducing pensioner poverty over the past two decades has been a really significant success story. In the late 1990s nearly 30% of pensioners lived in poverty, today that figure is 14% or 1.6 million. This reduction is a major achievement in public policy. But this still means 1 in 7 pensioners are living in poverty and this group disproportionately includes women, people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and single pensioners. We would be very concerned by any policy that reversed this trend. The triple lock performs a simple function of making sure that pensioner's incomes are maintained, giving some financial security in an uncertain world.

'Any changes to state pensions do not just affect current pensioners - we all have an interest in the future of the State Pension. The State Pension is still the biggest single source of income for most older people in the UK and it will remain an important part of retirement income for younger people, including the millennial generation.

'We agree with the Work and Pensions Select committee that housing is central to issues of intergenerational fairness and support. Many younger people face difficulties as do some in other generations. For example, around a quarter of people aged 55-64 rent and have no housing wealth at all. In our view, there is a need for improved affordable housing options for people of all ages.'

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