‘I’m 67 and can’t afford to retire but triple lock plus will never happen’

Rob Trewhella’s dad George retired at the age of 61 as a butcher and lived until he was 92, enjoying a long retirement.

Rob hoped for a similar experience – but instead, he is still working at the age of 67 and can’t see an end in sight as he knows he couldn’t survive on just his state pension.

He told i he believes the Conservative Party’s triple lock plus pledge is a calculated tactic to try and entice older people to vote for them. Rob says he “doesn’t believe a word any politician says” and feels whoever comes into power will shut the idea down.

As the election campaign kicks into gear, Rishi Sunak has outlined plans to increase the tax-free allowance for pensioners in line with the existing triple lock to ensure it rises each year.

This would mean both the state pension and the tax-free allowance of retirees – currently £12,570 – would increase in line with inflation, average earnings or 2.5 per cent, whichever is the highest.

However, Rob says he doesn’t believe the state pension should be included in the tax allowance anyway when he has paid tax all his life, and feels it is a election gesture to raise the amount of tax-free allowance for pensioners in order to try and gain support in the upcoming vote.

“I don’t know how people can survive on just the state pension as it just isn’t enough to live on without people having to use the likes of food banks,” he said.

“I am fortunate that I am still able to work, but as I am getting older, I can’t do what I could do 10 years ago. I work part-time for a taxi company and work when required. Sometimes, I have to do more than I was expecting to and I get very tired.

“My dad was a butcher and had his own business and retired at 61 and lived to 92. He had a great retirement and was involved in lots of activities and used to go swimming every day until he was 85.

“I had thought I’d be able to retire at a similar age to my dad, but situations did not allow me to do that so here I am still working.

“To carry on being able to pay for everything, I will have to keep working unless my health dictates I can’t.”

Rob, who lives in Penzance, Cornwall, lives alone in privately rented accommodation in a one bedroom ground floor flat and he pays £675 a month in rent. On top of this, he pays £124 in council tax, around £40 a month for electricity and then food and other bills on top.

He says he knows he would save around £200 to £300 a month if he lived in a housing association property, but demand is so high, there are huge waiting lists.

“A few weeks ago, I applied for an over-55s one bedroom bungalow in a town eight miles away and I was told I was number 286 on the waiting list,” he said.

“I have worked since the age of 18 and had various jobs including working as a butcher and working for a tree surgery company. My biggest bugbear is that I have paid tax all my life and I don’t feel my state pension should be included in my tax calculations.”

Rob says he would like to vote in the upcoming General Election, but finds himself at a loss as he doesn’t trust the two main parties.

He added: “I’ve always voted in the past because I feel if you vote, you can have an opinion whether your party wins or loses. I have always been a bit of a floating voter and have never been one to stick with a particular party.

“I have read manifestos in the past, but now I think they’re just not worth the paper they’re written on.

“I am not fooled by the Conservative’s triple lock plus tactic as they’re just trying to get older people on board and I just don’t believe it. Whoever gets in power will just shut the idea down. I am disgusted with the lot of them.

“I am struggling to know who to vote for as Labour seem just as bad and the two main parties just seem to always be backbiting each other.

“I feel older people are being used as pawns to get a quick vote as they realise there are a lot of pensioners and we’re not doddery or stupid; most of us are intelligent people.”

‘I have no idea who I’m going to vote for’

Yvonne Bailey, 78, from Witney in Oxfordshire, says she believes the triple lock plus policy will be giving with one hand and taking away with the other.

The grandmother of three is currently receiving a state pension of £210 per week and £85 a week in pension credits – a total of £295 a week.

She suffers from health conditions including osteoporosis and fibromyalgia and uses a motability car.

Her thoughts on Rishi Sunak’s triple lock plus pledge are: “He’s giving it with one hand and taking it away with the other because if he’s giving let’s say £300 pounds a week and that’s when he starts deciding that you’ve got to pay tax on it.

“I mean for goodness sake, we’re not going to be any better off, we’re going to go backwards again aren’t we.

“If he’s going to tax my state pension, that means he’s taking money away from me, which he’s only just given us in a triple lock. So I’m going to be in a worse position financially.”

Yvonne, who is retired and worked in a variety of jobs and industries, including computing, retail and sales, says she will be back into the position before she started receiving Pension Credit when she was really struggling and “couldn’t even afford to buy myself new knickers.”

She said: “I’ve never voted Tory, and I never would, and this is the reason why. They take from the poor and give to the rich.

“I don’t care what they say about all these tax cuts. This is all for people that are well off. They don’t need to have tax cuts. It’s the people at the bottom of the chain like families who are struggling and old age pensioners.

“I wouldn’t vote for a Tory if you paid me one million pounds. They think of nobody but themselves and lining their own pockets. They are so rich they have no perception of what it is to live life.

“I would have automatically said I’ll vote Labour, but Keir Starmer is so wishy-washy, I don’t know where he stands.

“So at the moment, I have no idea who I’m going to vote for, I really don’t.”

Election 2024

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are out on the campaign trail after the Prime Minister announced a surprise snap election on 22 May. i‘s general election live blog follows all the twists and turns of the election period from all the major parties.

So far, the Tories have announced a controversial mandatory national service policy which has garnered mixed opinion from across the political spectrum, and a “triple lock plus” for pensioners. Meanwhile, Starmer has set out a five-year plan to clear the NHS backlog, but eyes are on Diane Abbott after she was reportedly blocked from standing in her seat for Labour.

Odds on who will become the next Prime Minister currently favour Starmer, and the polls tell the story of a massive Labour majority.

Keep up to date with the 2024 general election in our extensive coverage, on everything from the main parties’ pledges on policies like immigration and pensions to the seats still without a candidate.