Glossary · UK
What is Triple Lock (State Pension)?
The guarantee that the UK State Pension rises each April by the highest of earnings growth, CPI inflation, or 2.5% -- protecting pensioners against below-inflation or below-earnings increases.
Full Definition
The Triple Lock is the policy commitment introduced in 2011 that the UK new State Pension (and Basic State Pension) increases each April by the highest of three measures: (1) Average earnings growth (measured by the Average Weekly Earnings index for the period May-July each year); (2) CPI inflation (measured for September of the preceding year); (3) 2.5% -- a hard floor to ensure real-terms growth even in low-inflation, low-earnings periods. For 2026/27, the State Pension rose 4.8% driven by earnings growth (September 2025 CPI 1.7%, 2.5% floor beaten by both), taking the full new State Pension from GBP 230.25/week to GBP 241.30/week (GBP 12,547.60/year). The Triple Lock is politically contentious because pensioners form a large voting bloc; critics argue it creates an unfair inter-generational wealth transfer and is fiscally unsustainable. The government replaced the Triple Lock with a Double Lock (earnings vs inflation only, no 2.5% floor) in 2020/21 due to COVID earnings distortions -- but restored all three elements in 2022. State Pension is taxable income, but most pensioners receive it without income tax because it falls below the Personal Allowance of GBP 12,570 -- though not by much at GBP 12,547.60 for 2026/27.