Triple lock: Will it have to go?
Pardon the Interruption
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The government is contemplating ending the triple lock on state pensions - meaning they always rise by the highest of inflation, earnings or 2.5% - raising income tax and freezing public sector pay for two years as it tries to find ways to plug a projected budget deficit of £337bn this year, the Telegraph reports.
"It’s no surprise to see policies perceived by some as overly generous for certain groups on the list of expenditures that could be reduced," says Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon.
He says pensions tax relief for higher earners could also be among those.
He says pensions tax relief for higher earners could also be among those.
"We’d encourage the government not to rush through changes and to think about the long-term implications of this type of reform. The logistics of changes to pension tax relief for example are fraught with complexity such as how it would be applied to defined benefit pensions. And it will be vital that changes which focus on particular age groups such as state pensions are not only fair but perceived as fair by the wider population," he adds.
