![\"Russia's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/in-this-pool-photograph-distributed-by-the-russian-state-agency-sputnik-russias-president-6899410.jp.jpeg\" "\\"Russia's")
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High-profile spending items like the triple lock and benefits could be scrapped to cover troop mobilisation against Russia (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
If Britain were to go to war with Russia’s Vladimir Putin<\/a>, the state pension triple lock<\/a> would need to be scrapped, defence and Whitehall insiders believe. Funding a war effort puts a huge strain on Government defence funding<\/a> and would push spending far beyond the current target of 2.5% of GDP<\/a> by 2027.<\/p>\n As a result, high-profile spending items would need to be scaled back, suspended or shelved to fund a massive mobilisation of extra troops, equipment and civilian defence, with securities such as the triple lock<\/a>, benefits<\/a> and net-zero potentially on the line. While the Government has insisted it is already increasing defence spending as a deterrence against all-out war<\/a>, there are fears in Whitehall that a conflict could be triggered by a miscalculation.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Russia threatens to attack King Charles with horror strike on Buckingham Palace <\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: State pensioners under 76 given full \u00a344.20 extra cash in May <\/a><\/p>\n There are currently no plans to scrap the triple lock and Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s Government has committed to keeping it for the rest of this Parliament (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n There are currently no plans to scrap the triple lock and Sir Keir Starmer<\/a>\u2019s Government has committed to keeping it for the rest of this Parliament – no later than July 2029.<\/p>\n However, if World War 3 were to break out, public spending across the board would need to be looked at to bolster the UK\u2019s military response, sources said.<\/p>\n Britain and its NATO<\/a> allies are already locked in a high-stakes “hybrid war” with Russia<\/a>, operating in what military experts call the sub-threshold environment. This is a state of permanent confrontation that sits dangerously close to open conflict without ever triggering a full-scale military response under NATO’s collective defence clause (Article 5).<\/p>\n The UK plans to increase defence spending to 3.5% by 2035 (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n In response, the UK has stepped up its military and civilian defence planning, including increasing spending for next year, with plans to increase it to 3.5% by 2035.<\/p>\n Now, a number of high-profile figures, including Sir Tony Blair’s<\/a> think tank, the TBI, have called for the triple lock \u2013 which guarantees the state pension<\/a> will rise by whichever is higher between inflation, 2.5% or increases in earnings \u2013 to be scrapped and replaced with a new system as it is becoming increasingly unaffordable, according to The i Paper. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) last year forecast that the extra cost of the triple lock to state pension spending will be around \u00a315.5billion by 2030.<\/p>\n Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who co-wrote last year\u2019s Strategic Defence Review, agrees that choices would need to be made if a war were to break out, with the triple lock likely at risk.<\/p>\n The UK Government has committed to keeping the triple lock for the rest of this Parliament (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n \u201cI do not know whether the triple lock is seen as part of this [funding], but the triple lock is seen by many as not only unaffordable but also inordinately favours the grey over the young,” he said.<\/p>\n![\"UK](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/uk-pension-planning-6899417.jpg\" "\\"UK")
<\/p>\n![\"Union](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/union-jack-flag-on-sleeve-of-british-military-camouflage-uniform-6899418.jpg\" "\\"Union")
<\/p>\n![\"Government](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/london-england-british-prime-minister-keir-starmer-reacts-as-he-meets-with-defence-secretary-6899419.jpeg\" "\\"Government")
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