Kemi Badenoch has pledged to keep the state pension triple lock indefinitely, setting up a clear divide with Labour over a policy that has protected the value of the basic state pension for years.
The Conservative leader ended speculation that she could abandon the mechanism, saying there had been nothing to change her mind about the party’s commitment.
Asked whether the Conservatives would retain the policy “in perpetuity”, she told the BBC: “That is what we have promised. There is nothing that has happened that has made me change my mind.”
Her intervention came as analysis suggested Labour’s planned changes could leave younger workers thousands of pounds worse off over a 20-year retirement.
Younger workers face biggest impact from triple lock changes
Generation X workers born between 1965 and 1980 were estimated to face losses ranging from £16,800 to £23,170 on average. Millennials born between 1981 and 1996 could be worse off by an average of £28,140.
Generation Z workers, born between 1997 and 2012, were estimated to face the largest reduction, at £38,400 over the course of retirement.
Under the triple lock, introduced in 2011, the state pension rises by whichever is highest among inflation, earnings growth or 2.5 per cent.
Labour’s proposed replacement would remove the direct link to earnings, with increases based instead on inflation or 2.5 per cent. Ministers have said a separate mechanism would ensure the pension did not fall below 30 per cent of average earnings over time.
The Prime Minister has said Labour will scrap the existing system in 2030, with legislation potentially introduced as soon as next year, despite the party’s manifesto commitment to retain the triple lock.
Mr Burnham has argued that changing the system could help fund plans for an NHS-style National Care Service. Official estimates suggest the move could save £15 billion a year by 2040, although Mrs Badenoch questioned how savings in the early years of the next decade would pay for a social care system intended to begin in 2030.
She said the focus of welfare reform should be on helping more people into work rather than reducing support for pensioners.
“What is going wrong in our economy is not lots of elderly people earning £10,000, £12,000 a year on the state pension, it is the huge number of people who can work who don’t work,” she said.
Mrs Badenoch added: “Going after the triple lock is simply moving money around. I am talking about growing the economy, getting people into work, making us more productive, bringing back the link between savings and growth.”
Some senior Conservatives, including former chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt and shadow communities secretary Katie Lam, have questioned whether the triple lock is sustainable in the long term.
But Mrs Badenoch said Conservatives believed people who had contributed should receive their state pension, warning against targeting elderly, vulnerable and disabled people while leaving those who could work without support to do so.
Her comments were made during a series of interviews marking the start of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, where she also described inheritance tax as “morally wrong” and indicated that she was considering plans to abolish it.
She also announced plans to remove the £100,000 earnings threshold for free childcare. At present, families lose all entitlement when one member earns more than that amount, meaning some workers can be financially worse off after accepting a promotion or pay rise.
