We were pleased to see the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, say in his Autumn Statement today (Wednesday 22nd November 2023) that the government’s commitment to the State pensions triple lock is to be honoured in full. This means that from April 2024 the government will increase the full ‘new’ state pension by 8.5% to £221.20 a week, which is worth up to £900 more a year for pensioners. 

“That is one of the largest ever cash increases to the state pension – showing a Conservative government will always back our pensioners,” the Chancellor said.

There had been concerns that the government would suggest a reduction of the increase to 7.8%, taking public sector bonus payments made earlier in the year out of the average earnings’ equation.

Speaking at an event at the House of Commons yesterday to launch the Later Life Ambitions (LLA) group’s pensioners’ manifesto, ‘Standing by pensioners’, CSPA’s General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris emphasised the need for all political parties to make the demands set out in the manifesto front and centre in their party-political election manifestos next year.

On State pensions, the CSPA and partner LLA organisations, the National Association of Retired Police Officers (NARPO) and National Federation of Occupational Pensioners (NFOP), are calling for commitments to maintain the Triple Lock year on year throughout the next Parliament.