Older people are in line for a bumper state pension next year after Rishi Sunak promised an inflation-busting uplift.

As he pledged the return of the triple lock - which protects the level of the allowance - the Chancellor said pensioners should be ‘reassured' that 2023 will bring an ‘enormous easing' in their finances.

Yesterday Mr Sunak told MPs that benefit recipients will also receive increases in payments next year.

He said benefit and pension rates from April next year will be linked to the inflation rate in September 2022.

Based on current forecasts, inflation is expected to reach 10 per cent this year and then fall in 2023, meaning that when the rises are introduced they will be higher than the rate of inflation.

The Chancellor told MPs the increases would help households deal with soaring prices and the rise in energy bills.

Mr Sunak said: ‘I can reassure the House that next year, subject to the review by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, key cutting oakville benefits will be uprated by this September's consumer prices index, which on the current forecast is likely to be significantly higher than the forecast inflation rate for next year.

Similarly, the triple lock will apply to the state pension.'

The triple lock - a Tory manifesto commitment - ensures the state pension will rise each year in line with either average wage growth, inflation or by 2.5 per cent - whichever is highest.

Last September the Government confirmed it would suspend the triple lock for one year amid huge controversy.

The move followed concerns that a post-pandemic rise in average earnings would have resulted in pensions increasing by 8 per cent.

Earnings soared over the year after falling the year before during the Covid lockdowns.

The suspension was introduced despite Boris Johnson promising in his 2019 election manifesto to maintain the triple lock formula.

And it came just hours after the Prime Minister breached another manifesto commitment by increasing national insurance to fund health and social care.

Yesterday Mr Sunak told financial expert Martin Lewis that many Britons should be ‘reassured'.

He said: ‘Benefits and pensions next year are likely, subject to a review which has to happen legally, to go up by quite a significant amount, because the inflation rate that decides that is set in September.
That's likely to be a relatively high inflation rate in September, and that increase is most likely to be significantly higher than the inflation that we will see next year on all the forecasts available.

‘So that should give people an enormous sense of reassurance that we're announcing the help today to get them through to that point and then next year there's going to be an enormous easing as all of their incomes go up considerably compared to the increase in prices.'

Earlier, the Chancellor announced further help for pensioners to cope with the cost of living crisis.

He said pensioners who receive the winter fuel payment will also get a one-off ‘cost of living payment' of £300.

Mr Sunak said: ‘Many pensioners are disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs.

‘They cannot always increase their income through work and, because they spend more time at home and are more vulnerable, they often need to keep the heating on for longer.

‘We estimate that many people who are eligible for pension credit are not currently claiming it, which means many vulnerable pensioners will not be receiving means-tested benefits.'

He added: ‘I can announce today that, from the autumn, we will send over eight million pensioner households that receive the winter fuel payment an extra one-off pensioner cost of living payment of £300.'