The Conservatives are pledging a ‘triple lock plus’ for UK pensioners – here’s what it means

By Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance, The Open University

If re-elected, the Conservatives have pledged to introduce a “triple lock plus” that the party says would pull “millions” of pensioners out of paying tax. Their plan would ensure that pensioners’ tax-free personal allowance rises each year in line with the state pension.

This is something of a policy U-turn. It is just 14 years since the coalition government started to phase out higher personal allowances for older people, who used to be entitled to a greater income than under-65s before being liable…

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