Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan is remaining tight-lipped on whether the proposed new Manx State Pension will be index-linked.

Wide-ranging reform, backed by Tynwald last year, would see a single Manx State Pension introduced and pension supplement withdrawn. When the recommendations were approved, the figure mentioned was £170 - down from a previous suggestion of £180.

In addition, 35 years of National Insurance contributions would be required to receive the full amount.

The details of the Manx State Pension will be put to Tynwald next month (December).

In the House of Keys this week David Ashford (Douglas North) asked whether future increases would be index-linked (which would mean going up with the rate of inflation). A lot of thought and consideration had been put into the new rates, he said, as would be clear at the December Tynwald.

’[Members] will see clearly how that pension is designed to work over the next few years and doubtless will be able to comment on whether or not they feel it has been set appropriately.’

If it is eventually linked to inflation, the choice of inflation measure would make a difference.

The government’s preferred measure now is the consumer prices index, which is usually lower than the retail prices index, to which many pensions have been linked in the past.