The Committee for Employment & Social Security will have to make this call in time for a debate towards the end of October, when the States only sits again to continue the tax reform debate from Wednesday 30 September. It is currently looking at its options.
And ESS president Tina Bury has outlined the difficulty the committee will face over the next few years in increasing pension payments if a spending cap on general revenue and the States Insurance Fund is enforced by her political colleagues as the number of claimants continues to grow.
The committee is predicting that the number of pensioners will rise by 600-700 claimants, or 3.3%, in 2027.
By the time the proposed freeze comes to an end in 2029, the number of States pensioners is likely to have risen by 11% compared to current levels – an increase of more than 2,200 people.
Deputy Bury said her committee did not want to reduce the pension, but that such a step would be unavoidable if it had to follow the States’ vote in the face of such a steep rise in pensioner numbers.
Amendment seconder Deputy Haley Camp said that the committee could make its case for more funding directly to the Assembly.
‘If any committee has a valid concern, bring it to the States and allow a wider conversation on necessity and how we balance our books,’ she said in a post on social media.
‘We need to stop hiding behind emotive language such as this. All I hear is that savings are slash-and-burn, salami-slicing, risk public order, risk lives.’