Baroness Altmanns proposal to abolish the triple lock has merit, but her suggestion that pensions should undoubtedly be protected by a double lock is not supported by any logic.
Baroness Altmann's proposal to abolish the triple lock has merit, but her suggestion that pensions should undoubtedly be protected by a double lock is not supported by any logic.
I go back to a suggestion I made (bit.ly/15DKZLK, The Actuary, November 2014) that we look at how the GDP cake should be shared between 'Learners, earners and burners', the last category being the economically inactive - the retired and those in long-term care. Without an informed debate leading to a fair basis, we will have dissatisfaction, potentially leading to anarchy. All the signs are there, including the UK referendum vote and the chaos in the United States, which has a similar problem. My suggestion was to get the retired to continue to pay NI contributions and, in return, get a better standard of long-term care. If we did that, the state pension could go up (or down) in line with RPI. I am a pensioner, so am not speaking out of self-interest.
Icki Iqbal
4 August 2016
