David Cameron pledges to 'protect' state pension
Mr Cameron said the announcement was "the first plank of the next general election manifesto" The Conservatives will continue to use the "triple lock" to protect the basic state pension if they win the next election, David Cameron has said.
He pledged pensions would continue to rise in line with wages, prices, or by 2.5% - whichever is highest - during the 2015-2020 parliamentary term.
He said he wanted to give "peace of mind" to those who had worked hard.
The PM indicated it was "the first plank of the next general election manifesto - pensions are protected".
In an interview with the Times, the prime minister said he had been able to make the commitment after taking "difficult decisions on raising the pension age".
BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said Labour and the Lib Dems were now under pressure to say if they would match the commitment.
Labour has previously said it supported the triple lock.
The triple lock was introduced by the coalition and means that, since 2010, many pensions have risen by about £15 per week overall.
Mr Cameron said: "I am determined to give people who have worked hard and done the right thing during their working lives real security and peace of mind in retirement.
"We are only able do this because we are taking the difficult decisions to tackle the deficit and put our economy back on the right path."
'Devastate economy'He said this was in contrast to Labour "who would devastate Britain's economy with more borrowing, more spending and more debt".
Chancellor George Osborne announced in his Autumn Statement that the state pension age would increase to 68 in the mid-2030s and to 69 in the late 2040s.
In 2012, the basic state pension rose by £5.30 a week - the largest cash rise ever seen Mr Cameron also told the Times he was "a low-tax Conservative" and hinted that a further reduction in the 45p top rate of income tax had not been ruled out.
The government's previous controversial cut from 50p to 45p on earnings over £150,000 was portrayed by Labour leader Ed Miliband as a "tax cut for millionaires".
"Tax rates should be set to raise money, not to send messages," Mr Cameron told the newspaper.
He added: "If people can bring forward arguments about how to maximise the revenue from the top rate of tax, I'm always interested to read them."
In response, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: "While ordinary families are facing a cost-of-living crisis it seems David Cameron wants to give people earning over £150,000 yet another tax cut.
"Working people are on average £1,600 a year worse off since the Tories came to office. But once again this prime minister seems determined to be on the side of the privileged few."
Mr Cameron has previously faced criticism - including from senior Conservative cabinet members - for sticking to a 2010 election promise not to cut benefits for the elderly.
But Paul Green from Saga, which specialises in products and services for the over-50s, said: "David Cameron's commitment to the triple lock for the state pension will be warmly welcomed by British pensioners, giving them confidence that their lifetime of work will be properly valued by society."
'Struggling young'The BBC's Carole Walker said there were those who would question why the money should be going to some pensioners who were pretty wealthy while many young workers were really struggling, she said.
Those young workers were being told they would have to wait many years before they could get a pension at all, she added.
The triple lock has already helped protect pensioners' incomes at a time when earnings growth has been low.
As a result, the basic state pension will be about £440 a year higher from next April than it would have been if it had been uprated in line with average earnings since 2011-12.
The triple lock meant the basic state pension rose by 5.2% in 2012, or £5.30 a week - the largest cash rise ever seen.
In April 2013, it rose by £2.70 to £110.15 a week - a rise of 2.5%, which was higher than either earnings or inflation.
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