Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the State Pension as a result of the double lock rule in the context of increases to the rate of inflation.

The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021 introduced a double lock and allowed the Government to increase pensions by the higher of inflation or 2.5%. From April, State Pensions will be increased by 3.1%, using the consistent mechanism used each year for determining the rate of price increases for pensions and benefits. This represents an additional £4bn spend on pensioner benefits in 2022/23.

Over the last two years, the basic and new State Pension have increased by more than 5.6%. This means that from April, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be around £720 more in 2022/23 than if it had been up-rated by prices since 2010. That’s a rise of over £2,300 in cash terms.

A full impact assessment for The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021 is available here: CBP-9311.pdf (parliament.uk)

The government remains committed to implementing the Triple Lock in the usual way for the remainder of the Parliament.