{
  "id": 10716689,
  "title": "Burnham pledges to scrap pension triple lock from 2030",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/burnham-pledges-to-scrap-pension-triple-lock-from-2030",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-29T14:49:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Politico EU",
    "slug": "politico-eu",
    "url": "https://www.politico.eu/article/burnham-pledges-to-scrap-pension-triple-lock-from-2030/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on Tuesday that he intends to eliminate the pension triple lock by 2030 and replace it with a new funding mechanism for his national care service. The triple lock currently ensures the state pension rises by the highest of earnings growth, inflation, or 2.5% annually. Burnham's proposed system would maintain a \"double lock\" of inflation or 2.5% increase each year, but not earnings. He emphasized that the state pension would also keep pace with wage growth in the long term. Burnham emphasized that the changes would yield significant savings, which would be directed towards building the National Care Service. He estimated the new measures would save £15 billion annually by the end of the 2030s, increasing to £50 billion per year by 2050. While the triple lock has been criticized by economists as unsustainable, costing around £16 billion per year and set to increase further, Burnham's proposal is considered an improvement. However, Jonathan Cribb, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, believes the changes may not be enough to fund his social care plans. Cribb stated that while the worst aspect of the triple lock has been neutralized, more comprehensive reforms were available but this change alone is not sufficient to address the funding challenges.",
  "summary": "Major think tank warns change won't fund prime minister's social care plans.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}