JOHN Swinney has called on Andy Burnham to row back from his proposed changes to the triple lock, after official analysis showed the cost to Scotland’s pensioners would be £4 billion by 2049/50.
The First Minister said the analysis confirms that individual pensioner incomes would reduce by almost £2000 in real terms.
During his speech at the Labour Party conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced that the UK Government would change the triple lock on pensions to fund a National Care Service.
Burnham said pensions would rise either by CPI inflation or a minimum of 2.5%, removing the link to average earnings.
Swinney said: “I have received an official estimate of the cost to Scotland of the Prime Minister’s attack on the triple lock.
“This analysis shows that by 2050, pensioners in Scotland will be losing £4 billion per year as a result of the Labour government’s cuts. And the Prime Minister plans to use it to pay for social care in England.
“This means that the incomes of pensioners will be almost £2000 lower in real terms. It is absolutely unacceptable."
The UK Government estimates the changes to the state pension triple lock will save £15 billion a year across the UK by 2039/40, rising to £50 billion a year by 2049/50.
Based on Scotland's share of the pension-age population, Scottish pensioners could receive around £1.3bn less annually by 2039/40 and £4bn less by 2049/50 than they would under the current system.
Swinney added: “One of the first things Keir Starmer did as Prime Minister was to attack our pensioners by cutting the Winter Fuel Payment and it doomed him from the start.
“Andy Burnham is now making the same mistakes, and he should immediately row back on these plans and abandon his attack on people’s pensions.”
The analysis has been highlighted to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee, with Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth writing: "Given the importance of the State Pension to the incomes and financial security of many older people, and the significance of the proposed changes, I consider it important that the Scottish Parliament is made aware at the earliest opportunity of the potential implications for pensioners in Scotland.
"As such I will be making representations to the Chancellor on these proposals and make our concerns as plain and clear as is possible."
In The Telegraph on Thursday, Burnham defended the policy, telling readers he has "wanted to fix social care for a long time".
He said: "I want to be upfront about what I am proposing because this adjustment will bring change. The state pension will not increase as quickly as it otherwise would if we kept the triple lock in its current form.
"However, the adjustment will enable us to fix social care for everyone by building a National Care Service that provides older people with free personal care at the point of need. I believe this is a better deal for pensioners.
"I do not expect people to support this plan without seeing the full detail. We will start laying the ground now for the National Care Service and introduce it as soon as possible in the next parliament."
Burnham concluded the opinion piece by stating: "This is the settlement I am offering to pensioners: a state pension that rises every year, no care charges and a high-quality National Care Service to give peace of mind in later life. I do not pretend this will be easy. But in the end, politics is about finding a way.
"I gave my word that I would do everything in my power to build a care system worthy of the people who provide it and all those who depend on it. This is how we can achieve it."
