Overview
- HMRC has confirmed a cliff edge in the planned exemption for people living only on the state pension, where £1 of extra taxable income can wipe out the relief and trigger a tax bill.
- Consultancy LCP estimates the pledge will help only about 700,000 to 800,000 retirees and will exclude anyone who reached state pension age before April 6, 2016.
- The Intergenerational Foundation proposes moving uprating to inflation until 2030–31 and then to the average of inflation and wage growth, projecting about £19 billion in annual savings by the mid‑2030s.
- The think tank says part of those savings could fund a new supplement of £30 a week for low‑income pensioners on Pension Credit, providing targeted help rather than across‑the‑board rises.
- State pension costs are expected to reach about £146 billion this year after roughly a 70% real‑terms rise over two decades, as experts warn the triple lock is fiscally hard to sustain and politically difficult to reform.