‘Costing billions’: is the pensions triple lock a lifeline or simply unaffordable?

The BCC has called for the pension triple lock to be scrapped, and the saved money to be put towards tackling the youth unemployment crisis. Photograph: Horizon International Images Limited/Alamy

There were fresh calls this week for the state pension “triple lock” to be ditched as debate rages over whether the UK can afford it.

The triple lock guarantees that the state pension goes up each year in line with inflation or wage increases or 2.5% – whichever is the highest.