September 15th, 2026
The Catalyst: Today’s news reports that the UK state pension is set to rise to just over £13,000 a year, thanks to the triple-lock tracking a 3.9% wage growth. The mainstream narrative is already spinning the usual warning bells about “long-term affordability” and “generational unfairness.”
My Take: Calling £13,000 a year a “substantial cost” is an absolute illusion. If a citizen has given 35 to 40 years of dedicated labour paying into a system under the promise of security, £13k isn’t a reward—it’s a baseline for poverty. The real target should be £20,000+ a year for full lifetime contributors.
A plausible way to achieve this? We stop importing asylum seekers immediately and deport every single one who has arrived over the last decade for starters. The vast majority of these economic migrants have completely drained the coffers of this country. It is a necessary start, alongside clamping down on lifelong scroungers. There are many ways to fund a peaceful, well-deserved retirement for the people who actually built this country, provided they have paid into the system for 35 years or more. They’ve earned it.