Almost a third (30 per cent) of UK adults want greater long-term clarity around the state pension and the triple lock to be prioritised in new Labour government policies, although there is a generational "clash" in terms of key priorities, research from Aegon has found.

The research, conducted by Opinium for Aegon UK, revealed a ‘generational gap’ in terms of what policies people wanted from the new government to help plan their financial futures, with those over 50s placing top priority on state pension clarity.

In particular, Aegon found that a "whopping" 45 per cent of those over 60 saw long-term clarity around the state pension and the triple lock as a priority, compared to 26 per cent of those in their 50s and 21 per cent of those under 50.

Additionally, 24 per cent of those surveyed said they wanted to see the new Labour government prioritise raising the personal allowance for state pensioners, in line with the Conservative's triple lock plus proposal.

Aegon highlighted this as reflection of ongoing concerns that even those with no income above the new state pension could face an income tax bill in the next two or three years due to projected state pension increases surpassing the frozen personal allowance threshold.

However, the research found support for this priority followed a similar age pattern, with 45 per cent of those over 60 in favour, versus 17 per cent of those in their 50s and 12 per cent of those under 50s.

Instead of pension policies, the research found that the top priority for the under-50s group (29 per cent) was ‘new initiatives to help me / younger generations get on the property ladder’.

Given this divide, Aegon pensions director, Steven Cameron, highlighted the research as demonstration that the new Labour government face a "tricky balancing act in meeting financial priority expectations of different generations of people across the UK".

“It’s clear the over-60s have very different priorities for the new government compared to the under-50s’ wish list," he continued.

“The 60+ cohort prioritised long-term clarity around the state pension and the personal allowance for state pensioners to be raised to avoid those with no income other than the new state pension ending up with a tax bill.

“While the incoming government has announced a Pension Schemes Bill and a pensions review, neither focusses on the state pension.”

However, there were some areas of broader agreement, as Cameron noted that, "interestingly", for the under-50s and those between 50-59, pension dashboards to find and view all pensions securely, in one place, was a policy priority.

“The industry has been working with government and regulators on this, and we hope the new government will endorse the current timeline, which would see dashboards become available to the public in 2026," he noted.

Cameron said the new government has “clearly” stated their ambition to bring about real change, although he warned that when it comes to individuals’ longer-term financial planning, it will be important to “mind” the generation gap and examine policy choices “through the lens of intergenerational fairness”.

“Generation by generation, on average we’re living longer, so balancing short-term needs with longer-term savings has never been more important,” he concluded.

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