As the Conservative Party manifesto was unveiled today with flourish at the Silverstone race track, promises to tax cuts and pay workers fairly were among some of the promises made by the Prime Minister. This included cutting tax for pensioners.
The promise of tax cuts for those on a pension comes after a poll revealed that a significant number of over 55s admit they are ‘seeking mental health help’ as mortgage rates rise and the ongoing cost of living crisis cuts into their retirement pot.
The Tory party have said in their manifesto that ‘We believe that those who have worked hard during their lives should have dignity and security in their retirement’. After the introduction of the Triple Lock scheme introduced by the party in 2010, state pensions are recorded to have increased by £3,700. However, inflation has risen by 4.2 per cent. This cumulative price increase amounts to 43.79% over this period resulting in the average cost of everyday items expanded 1.44 times. This year, the state pension has expanded by £900.
The Conservatives assure voters that their new ‘Triple lock plus’ scheme will insure that pensions won’t be ‘dragged into’ income tax. The re-vamped Triple Lock system would aim to uprate the state pension along with the highest of prices, which the Tories claim will ‘increase the State pension by £430 by April next year to £11,970; and continue to increase by £1,685 a year to £13,200
by the end of the Parliament’.
The manifesto states that: ‘From April 2025, we will increase the personal allowance for pensioners by introducing a new age-related personal allowance. This is a tax cut of around £100 for eight million pensioners next year – rising to £275 a year by the end of the Parliament.’
The Tories promise that under their new Pensions Tax Guarantee they will maintain the 25 per cent tax free lump sum and seek to maintain all current pensioner benefits, including free bus passes, Winter Fuel Payments, free prescriptions and TV licences.
After three weeks of campaigning and falling behind Labour in the polls, other parties have weighed in on the manifesto with The Liberal Democrats saying the Tory campaign was packed with “desperation and lies” and that the manifesto “isn’t worth the paper its written on”, as reported by The Express.
Labour has described the manifesto as “the most expensive panic attack in history”.
