Andy Burnham is not cutting your pensions, he's offering a better deal | Burnley MP Oliver Ryan column

I hope you’re keeping well and enjoying the autumn chill. After a summer of heatwaves, I’m quite enjoying reaching for my jumpers in the morning! 

This week, I want to talk about something that’s been making headlines: the triple lock and Andy Burnham’s proposals for pensions. 

Let’s be clear from the outset: Andy Burnham is not trying to cut your pension. Instead, he’s asking the real question about how we build a care system that treats people fairly, without forcing them to sacrifice everything they’ve worked their entire lives for. 

Think about what happens when you reach a point in life where you need extra support. Perhaps you need help at home, dementia care or a place in a residential care home. The question is simple: who pays? 

If you have very little in savings or assets, you qualify for support. If you’re wealthy enough to pay privately, you can cover the costs yourself. 

But what about everyone in between? 

Across Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield, that means the vast majority of people who’ve worked hard all their lives, bought a modest home and saved what they could. They’re not millionaires. They’re ordinary people who have done the right thing. 

Yet under the current system, needing care can put their home and savings at risk. 

I hear from constituents who find this deeply unfair. Imagine working for decades to pay off your mortgage and build a little security for retirement, only to face the prospect of losing it because you’ve had a fall or developed an illness and need help. 

That isn’t the dignity people deserve after a lifetime of hard work. 

Andy Burnham wants to change that. His argument is that care should be available when people need it, free at the point of use, rather than leaving families facing the prospect of losing their life savings to meet the cost. 

Of course, we’ve got to be honest about how that would be paid for. Reforming social care costs money, and difficult decisions have got to be made and that’s where the triple lock comes into things. 

I understand why pensioners and people coming towards the end of their careers are concerned. People have worked hard and paid into the system, often making sacrifices along the way. They deserve security and certainty in retirement. 

But this debate shouldn’t be reduced to a choice between protecting pensioners and giving people the care they need. We should be asking how we can do both, fairly and sustainably. 

The triple lock has been an important guarantee for pensioners, and Andy has been clear that it will remain in place until April 2030. After that, the system will be adjusted so the State Pension continues to rise every year by at least inflation or 2.5%, whichever is higher, with an additional link to ensure pensioners share in rising earnings over time. 

That means protecting pensioners against rising prices while making the system more sustainable for the future. The savings will help fund a National Care Service, so people can access the personal care they need without facing care charges that eat into their State Pension. 

People shouldn’t have to choose between getting the care they need and protecting everything they’ve spent a lifetime building. For me, it comes down to fairness. You should be able to retire with dignity, knowing your pension gives you security. And if you need care, you should be able to access it without the fear that your home and savings will disappear. 

 That’s why I’m proud of the bold new steps the Government is taking, to reform care for an entire country one step at a time.