The triple lock pension is a safeguard that applies to the UK state pension to ensure it doesnt lose value because of inflation. It was introduced in 2010 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government to guarantee that the state pension would not lose value in real terms and that it would rise at least in line with inflation. The triple lock system means that each year, the state pension would increase by the highest of the following three measures:

• Average earnings
• Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• 2.5%

If average earnings or inflation rises by over 2.5%, the state pension will increase by that amount. If neither average earnings nor inflation rises by over 2.5%, the state pension will still grow by this amount. The triple lock applies to both the basic state pension (pre-April 2016) and the new state pension (post-April 2016) .

The triple lock ensures that the state pension increases each April in line with whichever of the three measures is highest. If you are currently receiving the state pension, the triple lock ensures that your spending power will not diminish over the course of your retirement (for as long as all three guarantees remain in place) . The triple lock may be even more important to future generations, as younger people are less likely to have the security of generous final-salary workplace pensions and will be more dependent on other sources of income (including the state pension) .

The current Conservative government has pledged to keep the triple lock in place until at least 2024, and opposition parties, including Labour, also support the policy. However, there have been calls to scrap or modify the triple lock, which intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic, amid fears that it could become too expensive.