AS the years and months go by we have become used to promises from the 2014 referendum consistently being broken.

They have fallen one by one and the list could fill many pages of this newspaper.

From EU membership to social security to the NHS and federalism. We can add another to that list this week in the wake of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget – pensions.

We were told in 2014 that if Scotland voted Yes then our current and future pensions would be at risk. Not only was that complete nonsense at the time, pensions are now at more risk under Westminster control.

READ MORE: UK Budget: Pensioners set to lose £2600 as triple lock halted

Already, state pensions in the UK are one of the worst in Europe. Similarly sized countries to Scotland have a much better pension support system than

the UK. As a percentage of previous wages, Austria pays pensioners 89.9%, Denmark 70.9% and Iceland 69.8%.

Compare that with the UK, where pensioners receive on average just 28.4% of average wages and is bottom of the league in providing a comfortable living in retirement compared with our closest European neighbours.

Unfortunately, this is par for the course for the UK and how it treats its citizens. Consistently, it comes last compared to our European neighbours. The UK has the lowest social security, highest poverty levels and is the most unequal on almost every measure compared to nations in North West Europe.

It is no coincidence then that people in Finland also report being happier than people living in the UK.

And while the current pension situation is grim, it is unfortunately about to get worse because of last week’s Tory Budget.

Just like they ditched promises in 2014, Rishi Sunak has now ditched one of their key 2019 General Election manifesto pledges on pensions.

The Tories promised to keep the pensions triple lock – designed to make sure pensions kept pace with inflation and the cost of living – meaning “that those who have worked hard and put in for decades can be confident that the state will be there to support them when they need it”.

But that Tory promise was chucked on the scrapheap – along with numerous other broken manifesto promises – when the Chancellor confirmed the pensions triple lock is being ditched.

That broken promise means Scots pensioners will be, on average, £2600 worse off over the next five years.

Under Westminster control, Scotland’s pensioners continue to be criminally short-changed. Last year the UK Government forced over-75s to start paying for their TV licence again.

At a time when lockdown was causing increased social isolation and loneliness for many older people – whose only window on the world was provided by the telly – callous Tories decided to put that at risk by placing more financial burden on some of those who could least afford it.

READ MORE: Scots 'shafted' as Tories break triple-lock pensions promise

The UK Government is also presiding over a cost-of-living crisis, with energy bills skyrocketing. Some pensioners will face the unthinkable choice of either turning on the heating or feeding themselves.

Pensioners have been betrayed by this UK Tory government, along with thousands of vulnerable families across Scotland.

We must be able to choose a different path, where we can build a social security system that provides a safety net for all and a pension that funds a dignified and comfortable retirement for our older generations.

We can choose that path with an independent Scotland with full powers over crucial public spending priorities like pensions and move away from the callous and cruel UK Government.