U.K. finance minister Rishi Sunak is planning to keep the government’s promise to increase the state pensions of millions of elderly people by at least 2.5% every year, saving a flagship policy despite the costs.

According to a person familiar with the matter, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will retain the “triple lock” guarantee to raise the state pension by the highest of three measures: annual growth in average earnings, inflation, or 2.5%. Around 12.5 million people receive the pension.

The risk is that the economic chaos of the pandemic will make the policy — set to be confirmed at next month’s budget — far more expensive than planned. The budget deficit is already on course to reach 400 billion pounds ($546 billion) this year and Sunak is anxious to begin to reduce borrowing.

For now, though, with the U.K. still in the grips of its third national lockdown and more than 100,000 people dead from coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his team are focused on extending emergency support for jobs to help the economy rebound after the pandemic.

With the effect of the crisis on this year’s data for average earnings still unknown, the state pension guarantee will stay, the person added, speaking anonymously because budget planning is confidential.

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