The independent state pension age review has recommended that the triple lock policy on the state pension should be scrapped in the next parliament in 2020.

Introduced in 2010, the triple lock guarantees the state pension will increase each year by whichever is the highest of earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent. The policy has seen the state pension value increase by 22.2 per cent between April 2010 and April 2016, much higher than earnings growth (7.6 per cent) and inflation (12.3 per cent).

The review noted that if further savings are needed to ensure fiscal sustainability, then in the future pensions should be increased in relation to earnings.

“We recommend that the triple lock is withdrawn in the next parliament. Under our recommended timetable, state pension spending would be 6.7 per cent of GDP in 2066/67, which is a reduction of 0.3 per cent compared to the principal Office for Budget Responsibility projection. If the triple lock is withdrawn, spending will be further reduced to 5.9 per cent of GDP by 2066/67.”

Commenting, former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann said: “I agree with Cridland that the triple lock should be abandoned after 2020. The triple lock is a political construct which purports to offer great protection while increasingly disadvantaging the oldest and poorest pensioners. The lock protects around £160 a week for the newest pensioners but only around £120 a week for older ones and it does not protect the pension credit at all which the poorest pensioners must rely on.

“The arbitrary 2.5 per cent figure has no economic or social rationale. Cridland suggests linking the state pension just to earnings but I would like to see some protection against inflation too if that is rising faster. There is a clear trade-off between more generous pension increases and raising state pension age. Having the triple lock in place also puts more upward pressure on the state pension age which itself disadvantages poorer areas of the country and those in heavy manual occupations. So the unfairness and extra cost of the triple lock make it ripe for reform.”

In addition, Club Vita head of longevity research Steven Baxter said: “The government has three levers to manage state pension costs – the state pension age, the amount of the state pension and the rate it increases each year. The government is committed to a universal flat rate pension at a level which provides a basic safety net. Ultimately we have to make a choice as society – a state pension which maintains its purchasing power and is available sooner, or a more generous state pension which we have to wait longer for.”

However, Royal London director of policy Steve Webb said: “The triple lock has helped to restore the state pension from a very low level in 2010. Whilst it should not continue indefinitely it would be right to review the policy at the start of each parliament rather than abolish it now.

"Many people retiring in years to come will have very modest private pensions and the state pension will be of vital importance to them. We should be careful not to base policy for decades in the future on the basis of the incomes of people retiring now".

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