Triple lock scrapped for thousands of state pensioners living in UK
The triple lock system - which is used to uplift the state pension - is set to be scrapped in a bid to preserve the National Insurance Fund, it has emerged.
The "triple lock" has been scrapped for state pensioners on the Isle of Man. The triple lock system - which is used to uplift the state pension - is set to be scrapped in a bid to preserve the National Insurance Fund, it has emerged.
The proposed change will be part of the Isle of Man Budget measures to be put forward for approval in February. The new Manx Pension Guarantee would see payments to those who reached pension after the 2019 date rise by 2.2%, reflecting the most recent Manx inflation rate, and grow from £12,558 to £12,831 for the 2025-26 year.
Pensioners born before that date would see a 4.1% increase, with payments uplifted from £8,814 to £9,175 across the same period before the Manx Pension Supplement is added for those eligible. Treasury Minister Alex Allinson said the revised scheme was "about intergenerational fairness, and accommodating the needs of today's children and grandchildren".
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He said the changes would allow pensioners would benefit from "the certainty of knowing that their income will rise each year to match changes in the cost of living". They would also mean the fund would "remain in a healthy and sustainable condition" and "able to provide both for their pensions and for those who retire in the future", he added.
It means 6,000 people will lose out. Treasury minister Allinson said: “Driving this change is the need to preserve the national insurance fund for our community into the future. It’s about intergenerational fairness, and accommodating the needs of today’s children and grandchildren.
“Tynwald members were clear when the matter was debated in November that workers and businesses should not be forced to bear the burden of paying increased contributions to the fund. Equally, the need for pensioners’ income to rise by an amount that reflected the cost of living in the island was also essential.
“By introducing the ‘Manx Pension Guarantee’, pensioners will benefit from the certainty of knowing that their income will rise each year to match changes in the cost of living. They will also know that the fund will remain in a healthy and sustainable condition, and is able to provide both for their pensions and for those who retire in the future.”
If approved by Tynwald during the budget-setting process next month, the changes will come into effect in April.