Debate on state pensions separated from budget

Politicians have agreed to have "a proper debate" about proposed changes to state pensions and the future of the National Insurance Fund.

Treasury Minister Alex Allinson had intended to move plans to replace the "triple lock" commitment for those who retired after April 2019 as part of the 2025-26 budget.

But MHKs backed Julie Edge's call for a "full independent national debate" on the issue separate from the delivery of the annual financial plan in Tynwald next Tuesday.

Allinson said he would support holding a separate discussion about the plans to introduce a "double lock guarantee" as a way to preserve the National Insurance (NI) Fund.

The treasury minister faced criticism from some members, who said he had not followed through with a commitment made in his 2024 budget speech to engage with politicians and the public prior to any changes.

A report published in October forecast the island's £1.09bn NI Fund would run out by the 2047-48 financial year.

Earlier in the weekly sitting of the House of Keys, Allinson defended the plans to introduce a system that would see pensions rise by either 2% or inflation, arguing it was not discriminatory under the island equality laws.

The proposals would see the scrapping of the "triple lock", which currently ensures increases based on the higher of UK CPI inflation, average earnings, or 2.5%, for anyone who retired after 5 April 2025 and qualifies for the Manx state pension.

But during a House of Keys debate that lasted more than an hour, Onchan MHK Edge said the policy could "put UK state pensioners living on our island in a better position than Manx-born pensioners who have lived and worked here all their lives".

"That is both unacceptable and deeply unfair and I refuse to allow this proposal to be buried in the small print of the budget," she said.

"A separate motion is the only way to ensure proper scrutiny and debate."

Glenfaba and Peel member Kate Lord-Brennan agreed a debate was needed, and argued that the Treasury moving ahead without wider scrutiny was a "flagrant disregard for Tynwald and the residents of the Isle of Man".

She said the original plan to have the changes debated and voted on as part of the budget was "bizarre" and not how major policy should be shaped.

The treasury minister told members he would ask for the proposals to be listed as a separate motion for debate and approval at the February sitting of Tynwald

However a bid by Lord-Brennan to have that pensions debate pushed back to a later sitting was narrowly voted down by MHKs.

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