Paula2007

Lets hope that the group of 13 pensioners who have gone to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg today (2.9.2009) and who have moved abroad and want their UK State Pensions to rise in line with inflation each year and not be frozen the day they leave the UK - win their court case. To all those ex pats, over 60 living in New Zealand were there is no reciprocal agreement with the UK regarding increased state pension each year - lets hope they win the case.

You pay into a state pension fund for 40 years in the UK and then it is frozen the day you leave the UK - is so unfair - lets hope this long running saga will now end and the courts see sense. As Andrew Harrop, Head of Public Policy for Age Concern and Help the Aged said "It's hugely unfair that pensioners who have made their national insurance contributions all their lives in the UK are being penalised for retiring abroad and loosing out on the uprating of their pension". Good luck to them. I hope they win.

Cadibel

Me too Might encourage the parents to come out and join us!

1938

Some people say that the UK are acting unfairly over the pension freeze. I disagree, I think they are acting illegally and making up their own rules to suit themselves. They were proven wrong over the Ghurka residence issue and they will be proven wrong over stealing ex-pats pension rights.

Numptyhead

What a great post Paula. Have some karma x

Farang9

I retired here to Thailand in 1998 for health reasons, and reached pensionable age in 2000, since when my pension has remained static. I paid the full NI contributions throughout my working life, and it seems very unfair that I, like the rest of us who choose not to live in specified countries, should not receive the appropriate benefits.
The list of countries approved for annual cost of living increases in state pension makes very curious reading:
Barbados, Bermuda, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Guernsey, Israel, Jamaica, Jersey, Mauritius, Montenegro, Philippines, Serbia, Turkey, USA and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
If anyone can see any logic in the inclusion of this hodge-podge, and the exclusion of the rest of the world, I would be glad to know it.
Fingers crosse (without a lot of hope) thet the European court will make the right decision, and the UK DWP will accede to it.

Vile

It looks like DWP retirees have an intriguing range of expat destinations!

NakiMan

To be honest, I dont hold out much hope.

Even if the Court agrees that it's a breach of human rights, I can see the UK Government stalling, and stalling and stalling some more.... Then there'll be a general election and It'll get quietly pushed to one side for a year or two..

Excuse my skepticism

NakiMan

Plus, of course every EU country !

The odd thing is that there is an agreement between the UK and NZ governments to allow time spent in each others countries to count towards qualification for a state pension. Very strange