We received a Facebook message a few days ago concerning Australian expats. Here is what it said: Is expats' radio aware and interested in helping the 550,000 expats living in places abroad other than Spain and France whose UK pensions are frozen? This disgraceful discrimination practiced by British governments for the past 65 years is now costing Britain £ billions because it discourages thousands more from leaving the UK to retire in many cases home to such countries as India, Pakistan and many Caribbean countries. Visit our websites www.pensionjustice.org or www.bpia.org.au or www.britishpensions.com and read about this issue at www.telegraph.co.uk/frozenpensions/ Jim Tilley Hon Chairman British Pensions in Australia
We had to respond to that and spoke to Jim this morning.
We stared by discussion how this policy came about and what it means to those who are frozen in terms of increases. It seems that expats in some areas do receive the increases whilst others do not. Their pensions will remain 'frozen' in time, staying at exactly the same level as when they first retired abroad, leaving them to survive on as little as £30 per week. Despite making huge financial and non-financial contributions to Britain over their lifetimes, thousands of pensioners across the world are being let down by the UK’s unjust pension policy.
How can it be fixed? A simple change in rules would fix this at a stroke. The argument that it will cost so much to bring this change in is countered by the fact that those people who move back to their country or become expats will not cost the NHS or welfare services any money in old age and in fact could contribute positively to the deficit.
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Pictures courtesy of: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
