Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to address disparities in outcomes between pensioners under the old State Pension system and those under the new State Pension.

Ensuring a decent State Pension for pensioners as a foundation for a secure retirement is a priority for this Government. That is why we have set out our commitment to the Triple Lock throughout this Parliament, which is set to increase spending on the State Pension by over £30 billion. The Triple lock applies to both the basic and new State Pensions

It is not possible to make direct like for like comparisons between the pre 2016 State Pension system and the new State Pension. Although some people receiving the new State Pension may get a larger amount uprated by the Triple Lock, there are other elements of the previous system that they do not have access to. For example, State Pension ages are generally higher for people reaching State Pension age after 6 April 2016, so people on the new system receive their State Pension income from a later date. Furthermore, the National Insurance rates that people have had to pay since 2016 have been higher than they were for people who were contracted-out before 2016. Therefore, all the arrangements need to be considered in the round, rather than comparing individual aspects.