Wol

Those who go along with the various and many arguments that governments of all stripe have come up with over the years rather ignore what is the principle of a pension.

It's the longest term contract that any of us ever make - mortgages included.

You pay for many years in tax and other payments, and expect that a government will honour its end of the bargain.

There are many pensioners in Canada, South Africa and elsewhere whose UK pensions are measured in single figures because they haven't been increased in decades: they rely on local charity.

No, they are not paying UK tax - they did that over many years of working. But they don't make any demand on the NHS or social services either - and these demands get much larger as they age.

We spent three weeks in the UK and Europe in August: during that period our state pension was paid at the current rate - £130 more per month than we get here in Australia. This after only seven years away, representing what happens to your spending power over a relatively short time.

I am lucky in that I have a good company pension (incidentally, part of *this* is unindexed because of goverment pension legislation over the years: they can never stop fiddling around with them) but there are many who are struggling to make ends meet.

renth

That's where you're going wrong. If you expect the govt. to ***** you over at any given opportunity then you won't be disappointed.

I think Brits abroad planning for retirement need to forget about any "entitlement" to a UK state pension and consider any crumbs thrown their way as a bonus.

It won't be long until UK resident Brits will end up having their pensions frozen/cut/scrapped or even rendered worthless by the financial repression the government is currently undertaking. Just like Russia in the early 90s.

PierreMaurice

There is an average cost of a pensioner in the UK for NHS, Social Services and Housing of over £8,500 per pensioner per annum. The average cost to uprate all frozen overseas pensions is around £1,000 per pensioner per annum. It does not make economic sense to discourage pensioners from migrating to Commonwealth countries by imposing the frozen pensions regime. The UK would be better off if it encouraged pensioners and others to migrate to Commonwealth countries by paying them an uprated pension like it does for those pensioners living in the USA, Israel, Switzerland, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Turkey, the Philippines and all the EU countries.

Please help by signing the petition at:

http://bit.ly/BritPensions

hobbis

Great reply - thanks

PierreMaurice

Half a million pensioners living in non Commonwealth countries have their state pension indexed each year for inflation just as if they were living in the UK under the current system. That is unfair, unjust and discriminatory, IMHO.

moneypenny20

I'm guessing you set up the petition? Just wondering why you're using the French version of your name and not the English? Doesn't matter, just being nosey.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Signed. I paid my fair share and don't see why I should be penalised, simply because I moved to Australia and not Austria.

Wol

It really is a godalmighty mess. For example, if yougo to the UK for a holiday your pension is uprated for the time you spend there.

The same applies if you go to France, Germany or the Philippines.

But not the USA, despite the fact that retirees living there DO get indexed pensions.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Any idea how long would you have to be resident in the UK to get a permanent increase?

Amazulu

The best way to make it fair would be for the UK government to not have indexed pensions for any pensioner living anywhere in the world apart from the UK.

They would save a packet too.

renth

Yeah, and to stop paying it to the thousands of Pakistani centenarians living in Taliban country.

PierreMaurice

There is no minimum time - I think you get it if you are there on a pension pay day - I have heard of people getting the increase for just a week or two. Someone I know used to travel from Canada to Spain each year for a 3 month holiday and used the increase on his and his wife's pension to pay for the airfares!

PierreMaurice

According to the DWP Statistics website, as at February 2011 there are just 4,510 British pensioners receiving the frozen pension in Pakistan and 2,750 of them are women - so I don't think the Taliban are getting anything out of it. There are less than 10 receiving the frozen British state pension in Afghanistan.

renth

What I'm saying is that most of them have died years ago and their relatives continue to claim their pensions but because they live in Taliban country staff from the British high commission can't check on them.

Wol

As soon as you become a permanent resident for tax purposes again.