The triple lock was designed to ensure the value of the state pension was not overtaken by the increase in the cost of living or the incomes of working people.
Although the state pension age is rising to 67, the cost to the government has risen considerably too. Forecasts suggest state pension spending, already at £154bn this year, could go up by a further £600m a year by 2029-30.
The policy is “crazy,” Ruth Curtice, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, told the BBC.
The triple lock is creating a “ratchet effect” where “pensioners’ living standards grow even faster than just a typical worker,” she added.
“Pensioners have seen living standards grow three times more than typical workers over the last 20 years.”
Jonathan Cribb, deputy director of Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank, said: “Each increase in spending builds upon the last and so the long-run cost is substantial but very uncertain.”
