ALBA Party set out plan to increase State Pension in an Independent Scotland

ALBA Party have today set out a plan for a new Scottish Pension Triple Lock which would see pensions rise much faster in an independent Scotland than they currently do in the UK. 

Previous analysis by The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calculated that a typical British worker will at retirement receive a state pension and other benefits worth around 29% of what they had previously been earning. That compares with an average of 63% in other OECD countries, and more than 80% in Italy and the Netherlands.

ALBA Party have today set out a plan that would result in state pensions in an independent Scotland coming into line with other European nations over time. 

They propose that the triple lock system should be improved which over a 5 year period would result in the state pension in an independent Scotland rising to over £1000 a year more than the expected UK State Pension. 

ALBA Party’s Westminster leader Neale Hanvey MP points to “major” expenditure that an independent Scotland would no longer contribute to - citing the massive £200 Billion-and-counting for the renewal of Trident, and Scotland’s record North Sea oil revenues and future renewables income as evidence of how an independent Scotland could realistically afford the cost. 

Commenting ALBA Party Westminster leader Neale Hanvey MP said: 

“Pensions are a favourite scare story of the unionists. Some of them even claim that the UK would not honour the contributions made by Scottish pensioners if we became independent. But the reality is that pensions are not funded by historic contributions but from current revenue and thus it is the Scottish Government which can and would guarantee the payment benefits. 

"The only real question about pensions in an independent Scotland is how quickly a Scottish Government would be able to correct course and increase them to bring them into line with the rest of Europe and the developed world from the current miserable UK levels.

"In an independent Scotland, ALBA expect to see pensions rise as quickly as possible. This would be achieved by introducing a new Scottish State Pension Triple Lock which, based on today’s figures, would mean that after a period of 5 years a Scottish State Pension would stand at over £1000 more per year than the UK state pension. 

"Scotland is an energy rich nation and we are on the threshold of unleashing an enormous renewables bounty that will last for years to come. Of course in an independent Scotland we wouldn’t be paying towards the £200 Billion-and-rising price tag of renewing Trident Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction. 

“Independence gives Scotland the choice to make different decisions - and a key choice we must make is to improve the quality of life of our pensioners.”