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The petition launched by the Daily Express and Silver Voices has also won the endorsement of the Centre for Ageing Better.
Mr Sunak is refusing to guarantee the future of the formula that would mean a 10.1 percent hike in state pensions as he tries to balance the books. But he was warned that government “flip-flopping” on the issue has caused stress for older people.
Dr Carole Easton, chief executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “We have one of the lowest state pensions in the developed world and the average income of a single pensioner last year was just £233 per week.
“Almost one in five pensioners were living in poverty even before the cost-of-living crisis. Restoring the Triple Lock on pensions is essential to protect the older people on the lowest incomes who are already facing difficult choices between eating and heating this winter.
“We fully support the campaign calling on the Prime Minister to commit to the Triple Lock now and end months of destabilising uncertainty which creates high levels of anxiety and stress for older people.
“We must remember that the Triple Lock doesn’t just benefit today’s retirees; those retiring in the years to come will be hit even harder by any reduction in the state pension. While the small annual percentage increases will be welcome to older workers on the cusp of retirement now, they will represent much larger increases over time for workers collecting their pensions in years and decades to come.
“While the government clearly has tough economic decisions to make, to offer a below inflation rise would show a failing in compassion for many older people who are already living hand to mouth and who have no other way of increasing their income.”
Sign the petition at: https://www.change.org/
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