The Treasury has issued a major update on whether it will tax Britons’ state pensions under its new leader.
Just days after John Healey took the reins as Chancellor, his department has now confirmed it is “committed” to making sure pensioners whose only income is their pension will not pay income tax.
From next year, as many as 82,000 pensioners could be drawn into paying income tax for the first time on their hard-earned pots.
This could be stopped if the freeze on the personal tax allowance is raised.
The Prime Minister just days ago acknowledged that retirees being dragged into paying income tax on their pensions had come up repeatedly while he was campaigning for the Makerfield by-election.
He said: “I heard issues related to the personal allowance more than anything on doorsteps in Makerfield.
“I think it’s been frozen now, hasn’t it, for a number of years… So it has dragged more people in – pensioners, I think – and that particularly I think has become a growing issue.”
Now, a Treasury spokesman confirmed that the Government is committed to ensuring anyone whose only income is the state pension will not pay income tax.
The commitment, first reported by the i Paper, will see Mr Healey stick to his predecessor Rachel Reeves’s pledge.
The state pension is liable to income tax, but generally pensioners who rely on it as their only income have not had to pay any.
The full state pension for the current financial year is £230.25 a week – which falls below the personal tax allowance of £12,570 a year.
A Treasury spokesman said last night: “Anyone whose only income is the full new or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay income tax and we are committed to that over this Parliament.
“By keeping the Triple Lock, 12 million pensioners will see their income rise by up to £470 this year, and they continue to benefit from the highest Personal Allowance in the G7.”
Andy Burnham was forced to defend keeping the Triple Lock during a social media Q&A just weeks ago.
A Reddit user questioned whether the measure should be scrapped.
The Makerfield MP replied: “I appreciate there’s a lot of debate about this but it is important that the commitment in the manifesto stands.”
But his pledge comes despite the Office for Budget Responsibility warning how the long-term cost of the policy is piling pressure on the public finances.
The increase due next April is expected to be above the 2.5 per cent minimum, because both average earnings growth and inflation remain above that level.
This year’s increase saw recipients of the full new state pension receive an annual rise of around £575 after average earnings growth of 4.8 per cent triggered the Triple Lock mechanism.
If earnings growth or inflation again exceeds 2.5 per cent when the relevant figures are confirmed later this year, pensioners receiving both the basic state pension and the new state pension could receive a larger increase than the guaranteed minimum.
