Cam’s triple lock that sees pension payouts rise at least 2.5 per cent could be axed, admits Chancellor

FORMER Prime Minister David Cameron’s gold-plated “Triple Lock” guarantee to pensioners faces the axe by the end of the decade, the Chancellor revealed yesterday.

Philip Hammond signalled the promise to raise the state pension by at least 2.5 per cent each year would be reviewed at the end of current Parliament in 2020.

It came amid fresh warnings of the huge pensions timebomb facing the country as millions of Brits live longer than ever before.

Mr Hammond said: “As we look ahead to the next Parliament, we will need to ensure we tackle the challenges of rising longevity and fiscal sustainability.”

The Office for Budget Responsibility predicts the pensions bill will rocket by £20billion by 2025 due to an expected nine per cent rise in the number of OAPs.

Experts claim the Triple Lock has cost the Government at least £6billion a year and the cost is due to be “materially higher” in future years.

The plan was launched in 2010 by then-PM Mr Cameron — pledging that pensions would rise by average earnings, the rate of inflation or at least 2.5 per cent.

The promise was then repeated in the 2015 Tory Election manifesto.

But the guarantee has fuelled a growing “generosity” divide as pensioners benefit from the payout while wages for working Brits stagnate.