Govt could save £1bn by altering triple lock

The Department for Work and Pensions has refused to confirm whether Chancellor George Osborne will use September's CPI to set next year's pension increase, as normal, or use a different month's CPI. CPI has rocketed this year from 4.5% in April to 5.2% in September. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts CPI will fall to around 2% by Q2 of 2012. Webb revealed on Monday the government would save £0.9bn if it set state pensions to increase by March's expected inflation instead of September's CPI. In response to a written question from Rachel Reeves shadow chief secretary...