Retirees to get £150 pension boost a year after General Election - but younger Britons to be £540 'worse-off'

Pensioners are expected to be £150 a year "better-off" under the main parties' pledges, while younger Britons are forecast to lose out

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Patrick O'Donnell

By Patrick O'Donnell


Published: 26/06/2024

- 19:02

Updated: 26/06/2024

- 20:35

Experts are sharing how pensioners and younger workers will benefit from the General Election manifesto pledges from the main political parties

Retirees in Britain are expected to be £150 better-off no matter which party wins the General Election on July 4 while Britons of working-age will lose £560 annually, according to new analysis conducted by the Resolution Foundation.

The think tank's latest report has highlighted how older and younger households will be impacted by the various tax and pension pledges promise by both the Conservatives and the Labour Party.


Both parties have agreed to keep the triple lock on the state pension which guarantees payments rise every year in line with either inflation, average earnings or 2.5 per cent; whichever is higher.

However, the Tories and Labour have diverged on the issue of the "triple lock plus" which has been floated by the Government ahead of voters heading to the polls next week.

Under this policy, the tax-free allowance on pensions would increase annually with whatever the triple lock is. This essentially guarantees Britons would never have to pay tax on their state pension.

Recently, experts have warned this could become a reality due to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announcing allowances would be frozen until 2028 in what many have referred to as a "stealth tax".

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Pensioner looks at letter looking worried

Pensioners have struggled amid the rise in the cost of living

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This is due to the impact of fiscal drag, the term used to describe when incomes rise during a period of tax thresholds being frozen over an extended period of time.

With allowances being frozen, taxpayers are at risk of being dragged into higher brackets with thousands of Britons losing more of their hard-earned cash to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Thanks to the triple lock, experts have cited state pensions are in the firing line of being taxed. As it stands, the full new state pension comes to just over £11,500 a year, while the personal savings allowance sits £12,750.

If the retirement benefit were to cross over this threshold, pensioners would be in line to lose income from the "stealth tax" from Hunt.

In its "Old Age Tendencies" report, the Resolution Foundation stated: "[There are] several significant planned personal tax increases in the next parliament, including an additional three years of freezes on the main income tax and personal National Insurance thresholds, raising £8.7 billion a year.

"These freezes would mean that pensioner households would be around £210 a year worse off on average in 2028-29 due to these threshold freezes, while non-pensioner households would be £360 a year worse off (in 2024-25 prices)."

However, the think tank cited the impact of keeping the triple lock on helping bolstering retiree incomes.

At the same time, non-pensioner households are finding themselves significantly worse-off in comparison in the wake of the "two-child" benefit cap being kept and the freeze on the Lifetime Housing Alliance (LHA).

The Resolution Foundation noted: "Overall, the impact of implementing these policies would see the personal tax and benefit system becoming more favourable toward older age groups.

"On average, non-pensioners would be £560 a year worse off in 2028-29, while pensioners would be £150 a year better off."

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Jeremy Hunt has previously promised to keep the freeze on tax thresholds in place until 2028

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Despite the forecast shortfall for workers, the Resolution Foundation noted there were still some policies being proposed which could benefit younger people down the line.

"Perhaps recognising this imbalance, both main parities’ manifestos include pledges that could benefit working-age households," the Foundation claimed.

"The Conservatives have pledged further National Insurance cuts that would benefit workers below the pension age, although the burden of the proposed £12 billion of welfare cuts would likely fall overwhelmingly on working-age households.

"Labour’s offering to those of working age has centred around promises to reform the world of work."

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