Now it's a dead cert. The State Pension - the cornerstone of millions of elderly people's household finances - is set for a bumper increase in April next year.
'Of course, the Government is committed to its policy on the triple lock,' Sunak said when questioned on the subject. 'Now, there is a statutory, a legal, process for determining the increase in pensions and benefits that happens in the autumn and that's where those final decisions are made.'
With earnings growth currently outstripping inflation , it will be the salaries component of the triple lock that will determine next year's State Pension increase. For many pensioners, this income boost provided by the triple lock will prove invaluable and timely, bolstering their finances against a constant tide of rising prices.
Yet at some stage, the elephant in the room — the massive cost of the State Pension, more than £120billion in the current tax year — will have to be addressed. And the debate will probably centre around the sustainability of the triple lock, which will cost an estimated £10billion next year. Another irate person wrote into the letters page of a national newspaper stating how 'out of touch' Lord Hague was regarding the triple lock. 'Obviously, when he gets his taxpayer-funded pension, he will be fine and won't live in poverty.'But a mix of financial experts and academics are beginning to come out of the woodwork and ask questions about the cost of the triple lock.