The lock was suspended for the 2022 -- 23 financial year due to fears that the end of the furlough scheme had led to an artificial spike in average earnings. Pensions are expected to increase by 3.1 percent from next April, according to September's inflation rate, even though prices are set to spike by as much as five percent next spring. Lord Sikka told a rally of dozens of pensioners outside Parliament this afternoon: 2.1 million people, or about 18 percent of them, are in poverty and 1.25 million of them are women. The poverty rate amongst pensioners has gone up in the past decade. READ MORE: Inflation to peak at five percent - What does it mean for your pension?
He said that the Government has found it so easy to inflict damage on senior citizens and we are going to say ''no, no more, this is not acceptable. New figures from the Office of National Statistics warned that there were more than 60,000 excess winter deaths in England and Wales last year. He warned that with fuel prices continuing to surge this year, and the suspension of the Triple Lock, there was a real danger that pensioners would have to make tough decisions on whether to use their money for food or heating. He said that the proportion of elderly citizens living in severe poverty is now five times more than in 1986. It is the largest increase in a major European country and should be a matter of national shame. Every year, some three million people are treated for malnutrition or undernutrition and 1.3 million of these are over 65 s. READ MORE: 1.1 million pensioners are at risk from a big rise in fuel bills.
The state pension has a lower base for future increases. Ministers say they remain committed to the triple lock and the mechanism will be reimposed next year. In September of this year, the Government launched a 500 million support fund to help vulnerable households through the winter. The money was made available to local councils to distribute to those most in need from October.