ray2gill

Not sure if anyone else has posted about this or not.

There is an online Petition requesting the British Government to unfreeze pensions paid to British Citizens in the countries below.

British State pensions are frozen in these countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and most other Commonwealth countries.

British State pensions are paid out of the National Insurance Contribution fund which, the Government's own Actuary Department stated in early 2006, has a surplus exceeding current requirements of over £30 billion and growing.

Please go to the link below and register your name also ask as many friends and family who are or will be eligible to receive a British State Pension to sign it as well.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/unfreezepensions/

Wol

Done it - but I am not holding my breath!

Thanks for the link.

CathnPaul

me neither

Big Galah

Erm, by "unfreeze" and "uprate", do you mean in certain countries they will re-evaluate the state pension amount paid to pensioners every year(?) based on inflation in that particular country? Whereas in Australia (and others) once it's paid it's the same amount until you pop your clogs?

Also, it would be helpful if anyone knows the answer to this one: if I've got 16 years' worth of UK NI contributions but am an Irish citizen, am I still entitled to that portion (1/4 or 1/2 or whatever) of the Basic State Pension when I retire if I no longer live in the UK (and it's still being paid in 2030)? I thought the fact they'd sent me letters asking if I wanted to top up my NI contributions meant I would be - but now I'm not so sure...

Cheers,

Big.

JAJ

Based on the same increase as in the UK.

Correct.

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/...ngoverseas.asp

As far as I can see there currently is no British nationality requirement for a UK pension if you have the contributions record. But there is no guarantee this will still be the case in 25-30 years, especially if EU/EEA arrangements fracture in the meantime.

Did you not become a British citizen during your 16 year residence in the United Kingdom?

geordie downunder

Just rough figures,11 yrs gets you 25% of the pension.Each year gives you 2.5% approx.Full pension is 44 yrs contributions,there is talk of bringing it down to 30 yrs.
If you retired tomorrow say you got 40% of the pension,the pension is 100 quid,full pension.You get 40 quid a week for the rest of your life,while the pension would increase for people living in the UK,you do not get that increase.
Countries such as the US get the yearly increase,again rough figures,any commonwealth country does not get the yearly increase,OZ,South africa etc.

sj oldfield

Done it.................although what good it will do!!!

TeresaG

I have signed it although not sure it will do much good.

FLUFF

Well, even if it takes a long time, patience and persistence, it must be worth it in the long run - we can't just sit back and let it happen. Protest, protest and more protest may help - if not pensioners now but maybe those in years to come.

SIGN UP EVERYONE

Big Galah

Thanks for the reply JAJ.

Nope, but you'll find that's the norm for people born in the Republic of Ireland who live/lived in the UK for a long time. It wasn't necessary. You were only excluded from certain government jobs (but not, bizarrely, the army or police).

The rules allowing Irish citizens right of abode in the UK (and the other way around - Like Australia & New Zealand), are separate to the EU directives allowing citizens to move between member states, which didn't exist in 1988 anyway.

Anyway, I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it at this stage, it's just the petition stating you had to be a British citizen that made me wonder.

Cheers,

Big.

soldierblue

Will pass the link onto my mum

Thanks Mark

JAJ

According to Home Office figures, the take up rate for British citizenship is about 20% for Republic of Ireland born persons who have been in the UK for 6+ years. Compared to an average of 60%.

And it's not quite clear how so many people are happy to live long term in a country and yet stay foreigners, regardless of how many rights they have. It means of course that they can't have British passports, or pass on British citizenship to overseas born children.


Rules could always be changed. Like Australia restricted the rights of New Zealand citizens in 2001.


Such directives have been around since 1968 or so. But these could disappear overnight if a few EU member state governments felt like it.

Big Galah

As long as Northern Ireland remains part of the UK I see this as being highly unlikely and very impractical.

The UK and Ireland didn't join the EEC until 1973. I meant in relation to travelling between Ireland and the UK without the need for a passport - this has always been the case and has nothing to do with the EU. Of course, this could change.

Anyway, back to the original topic:

I'll have to contact the pension service to get the answer to my eligibility and let you know the outcome. I can't even consider extra NI payments until I know the answer to that one (they wrote me a letter saying I didn't have enough contributions in a particular year to count as a full year).

Cheers,

Big.

ray2gill

Many thanks to all those of you who have signed the petition.

There are some expats who are only receiving £5 per week pension as that was the rate when they received their first payment. Is this fair? If they were still in the UK or the EEC or another country other than OZ they would be receing their pension at today's rate.

Please ask as many people no matter what their age, to sign the petition. If you do nothing - nothing will happen!

Many thanks
Gillian

CathnPaul

My grandparents recieve £2.50!!!