UK’s Sunak considers cap to annual pension rise
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 20,2021 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 20,2021
6
LONDON: British finance minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) is considering blocking a near 6 per cent rise in old-age pension payments as part of a wider effort to rein in the cost of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spending, the Sunday Times newspaper said.
Under a pension promise in the Conservative Party’s 2019 election campaign, state pensions are meant to rise each year by the highest of the annual inflation rate, wage growth or 2.5 per cent.
Due partly to distortions from the coronavirus pandemic, annual wages in the three months to April grew by an annual 5.6 per cent - creating an extra 4 billion pound annual cost for future pensions. The Sunday Times said the finance ministry wanted to break the link between pensions and wages for a year. — Reuters
Under a pension promise in the Conservative Party’s 2019 election campaign, state pensions are meant to rise each year by the highest of the annual inflation rate, wage growth or 2.5 per cent.
Due partly to distortions from the coronavirus pandemic, annual wages in the three months to April grew by an annual 5.6 per cent - creating an extra 4 billion pound annual cost for future pensions. The Sunday Times said the finance ministry wanted to break the link between pensions and wages for a year. — Reuters