Liz Truss will come under pressure to scrap the state pension triple lock, experts have warned.
The new Prime Minister officially takes the top job today after beating Rishi Sunak to be crowned the new Conservative Party leader.
But the incoming PM is could face calls to water down the state pension.
The triple lock is a Government promise that the state pension will rise every year.
It rises by 2.5%, average earnings or inflation in September of the previous year, whichever is highest.
Liz Truss has previously promised to keep the triple lock.
Under the triple lock, the state pension looks set for a bumper rise next year.
That is because the consumer prices index measure of inflation is currently 10.1%, and is set to rise even further.
If the triple lock stands and inflation is high in September, the state pension could rise by more than 10% in April 2023.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank says the triple lock could end up costing the country too much money in future years.
Carl Emmerson, of the IFS, told the Telegraph : “The triple lock is expensive over the long run and therefore will need to be ditched at some point.
“CPI indexation of the state pension in April 2023 and April 2024 - which will be a big cash increase - is defensible. It is just a question of whether the resulting increase in the state pension as a share of earnings should be locked in permanently.
“This is clearly not sustainable, particularly amid the current economic downturn.”
The pensions triple lock has been suspended this year to avoid a multi-billion pay rise for Britain’s elderly.
Last September the Government axed the triple lock for one year in favour of the 'double lock' - scrapping earnings growth.
The Government did this to avoid putting up the 2022 state pension in line with earnings growth, which would have meant an 8% rise to the retirement benefit.
Last year the Government argued such an increase would be unfair given that so many people were still struggling due to Covid.
In the end the 2022 state pension rose by 3.1%.
The 3.1% rise meant those on the full new state pension saw their annual income jump to £9,628.50 - an extra £289.50 a year.
Retirees can choose to receive their payments either weekly or monthly.
Choosing to receive the payment every four weeks differs from being paid monthly as the Department for Work and Pensions makes 13, four-weekly payments each year over a 52-week period.
This can result in two payments being made in the same calendar month.
