Fight to extend pensions to meet rising cost of living

Clare Wilkins, Nottingham Socialist Party

The Bank of England has been forced to buy £65 billion in government bonds to save pension funds from collapse, and that figure could rise further.

The government’s ‘fiscal statement’ contained huge tax cuts for the rich, and even after U-turns, the Tories will still seek to pay for the remaining tax cuts by cutting public spending. The fight starts now against yet another round of austerity.

Pensioners will be concerned that their income will be on the chopping block. The chancellor has said that he is “currently committed” to reinstating the pensions triple lock, but did not guarantee it.

The triple lock secured a minimum increase in the state pension of the highest of: inflation, average earnings, or 2.5%. It was suspended last year, the government cynically arguing that pensioners were costing younger workers too much money.

20% of pensioners lived in absolute poverty in 2019-21, and 200,000 more pensioners went into poverty in 2021 alone, according to the Rowntree Foundation. A real-terms cut to state pensions would plunge even more into poverty.

The state pension age is set to go up from 66 to 68. Many women who geared their lives to retire at 60 and get their state pension are facing significant hardship or forced to remain in work.

To qualify for a full state pension, you need to have paid National Insurance contributions for 35 years. The new state pension is just £185.15 per week, and older pensioners get £141.85. Many pensioners receive less than a quarter of what they earned at work.

Low-paid work means low income in retirement. The situation will only get worse for future pensioners unless we unite and fight for better pay and conditions, decent benefits and retirement pensions, a lower retirement age and a decent retirement for all.

Clare is East Midlands National Pensioners’ Convention Secretary, writing in a personal capacity