Rachel Reeves Slammed for Dodging Exploding State Pension Crisis in Spring Statement Blunder

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is catching serious flak after her Spring Statement skirted around one of the UK’s most pressing financial issues – the future of the state pension. With the government’s spending under the spotlight and big announcements made around welfare reform and public sector cuts, many were left scratching their heads as pension reform didn’t get so much as a mention.

And it’s not like the issue’s gone unnoticed. The cost of the state pension is ballooning – it now makes up a whopping 46% of the Department for Work and Pensions’ total spending. In real terms, that’s £124.1 billion for the current tax year, with projections shooting up to £169.4 billion by 2029/30, reported GB News.

Despite this, Labour continues to steer well clear of any talk about means testing the state pension or tweaking the triple lock, something experts warn is becoming increasingly unsustainable. As things stand, the state pension is a universal benefit available to anyone over the age of 66. Thanks to the triple lock, payments rise each year with whichever is highest: inflation, average earnings, or 2.5%.

But some are calling this approach outdated – and dangerous. Edmund Greaves, editor of Mouthy Money, didn’t hold back: “Labour has repeatedly ruled out looking at the state pension and whether affordability measures could be introduced, such as limited means testing or watering down the triple lock.”

He added: “It is telling that yet again today Reeves has ignored the issue. The simple truth is the state pension is unsustainable in its current guise.”

Greaves warned that with an ageing population and fewer taxpayers footing the bill, something’s got to give. “Unless the Government introduces means testing, the triple lock will cause payments to spiral out of control… The only option instead will be to keep increasing the age future generations can get the state pension.”

And that’s already happening. For younger workers, the pension age is creeping towards 70, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon.

From April 2025, pensioners on the full new rate will see their weekly payments rise by 4.1%, going from £221.20 to £230.25. That’s an extra £470 a year, bringing the total to just under £12,000 annually – welcome news for those already claiming, but it’s little comfort for younger workers wondering if they’ll ever see a penny.

Greaves summed it up bluntly: “Don’t hope and wait for the state pension when you’re old, because it probably won’t be there… Make a plan today for your future, take it into your own hands.”