The state pension triple lock could cost £9bn ($11bn, €10bn) in 2024, Interactive Investor has revealed.
The estimated cost of triple lock for 2024/45 projected by the DWP March forecast is £6,899m however calculations by Interactive Investor estimate that it could actually cost £8,815m for 2024/25.
Its calculations based on data including the DWP state pension data and ONS wages data also found that the total state pension bill could be £2bn higher than the current DWP forecast next year.
This is due to higher-than-expected wage and CPI inflation compared to predicted inflation at the time of the DWP forecast in March 2023.
Alice Guy, head of pensions and savings at Interactive Investor, said: “ The DWP March forecast expected the total state pension cost to rise to £135bn in the tax year beginning April 2024.
“But sticky inflation and increasing wages mean that the state pension bill could rise to around £137bn next year, the triple lock estimated to cost around £9bn to the taxpayer based on ii calculations.
“There are no easy solutions as even with the triple lock, the cost-of-living crisis means that an increasing number of pensioners are living in poverty.
“There’s a big time-lag between high inflation and an increase in the state pension, meaning that many poorer pensioners are facing a shortfall and are struggling to make ends meet.”
