The British Chambers of Commerce has urged finance minister John Healey to replace Britain’s pension so-called “triple lock” with inflation-linked increases ahead of his first budget, saying the savings could help boost youth employment and growth.
The triple lock guarantees that the state pension rises each year by whichever is highest among inflation, wage growth or 2.5%. The British Chambers of Commerce said in a submission to the government published on Sunday that replacing it with annual increases linked to consumer price inflation could free up about £3.3 billion over two years.
The business lobby group said the savings should be used to cover some of the cost of extending a zero rate of employer National Insurance contributions to workers aged 21 to 24. The BCC also called for lower business energy costs, business rates relief and additional export support, saying weak confidence and rising costs were holding back investment.
The group’s recommendations come ahead of Healey’s first budget next month. Should such a move go ahead it comes in the wake of significant changes which came into effect on 6 April 2026 for expats wanting to buy voluntary National Insurance (NI) years from abroad to boost their state pension.
Expats can no longer use the cheap Class 2 voluntary contributions (which cost around £182 a year). Anyone topping up their pension from overseas must now pay Class 3 contributions, which cost nearly £957 per tax year—a massive five-fold price jump.
To qualify for making voluntary contributions from abroad, individuals must now prove they lived in the UK for at least 10 continuous years or have 10 qualifying years already built onto their NI record. Unlike the State Pension, workplace and private UK pensions are not subject to geographic freezing.
They can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Expats generally choose between two routes. Payments are made into a UK bank account in Sterling, leaving the retiree to manage foreign exchange transfer fees and currency fluctuations.
You can legally transfer private pension funds to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme. However, transferring to a scheme outside the UK/EEA typically triggers a 25% overseas transfer charge.