New DWP update on State Pension payments for people not due annual uprating
Nearly half a million people will not get new State Pension payments of up to £230.25 per week this year.
Following the 4.1 per cent rise in April, the full New Sate Pension is now worth £921 every four-week payment period, while the full Basic State Pension has increased to £705.80. However, an estimated 453,000 pensioners are living in a country which does not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government resulting in them not receiving the annual State Pension uprating.
This is despite having paid the necessary amount of National Insurance Contributions to receive the state Pension. Campaigners have fought tirelessly to rectify the policy, but on Thursday the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed it has 'no plans to review such reciprocal social security agreements'.
Pensions Minister Torsten Bell gave the written response to Liberal Democrat MP Liz Jarvis, who asked if the DWP 'plans to review its policy on freezing State Pensions for people who move abroad'.
Just last month, campaigners wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ahead of the state opening of parliament on May 27, calling for an end to the so-called 'Frozen Pensions' scandal which affects more than 100,000 expats living in the country.
Campaigners urged the former governor of the Bank of England, to 'insist' that addressing the frozen State Pensions 'must form part of any further trade, defence or cultural agreements between the UK and Canada'.
Around the globe, some 442,000 British pensioners are living in a country which does not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government resulting in them not receiving the annual State Pension uprating.
The result is that many retired expats living in Canada receive such low levels of UK State Pension that they fall under Canadian minimum income thresholds, thus qualifying for Canadian taxpayer-funded benefits.
After Australia, the country is the second largest host of UK pensioners impacted by the Frozen Pensions scandal.
In the letter to Mr Carney on May 20, the 'End Frozen Pensions' campaign argues that 'bringing an end to this discrimination would reduce Canada's costs,' insisting that ending the Frozen Pensions policy is now 'a matter of fairness, dignity, and economic justice' that is 'long overdue for resolution.'
Second World War veteran, Mrs Anne Puckridge, is among the victims of the Frozen Pensions scandal. The 100-year-old moved to Canada in 2001 to be closer to her daughter and receives just £72.50 per week from the UK State Pension.
This is less than half the £176.45 weekly rate she would be entitled to if she had remained in the UK, or lived across the border in the USA.
Campaigners said the policy has caused her severe emotional distress as, like most other victims, she says she was never told her UK State Pension would be frozen at the point of emigration.
As a result, the Canadian government is providing her with additional means-tested financial support to help her afford basic living costs.
At the time, Edwina Melville-Gray, Chair of End Frozen Pensions Canada, said: 'It is clear this outdated and deeply hurtful policy is heightening tensions between Canada and the UK."
She explained how the State Opening of Parliament was Mr Carney's "chance to set the record straight and insist that it will no longer tolerate paying for British pensioners in Canada while the UK shows no interest in fulfilling its moral duty towards them".
The campaigner continued: "Canada more than meets its end of the bargain here by paying out a fully indexed State Pension to all its citizens worldwide, including Canadians in the UK. Mr Carney should insist that if the UK is to meaningfully trade and negotiate with Canada, it must reconsider its own approach to overseas state pensions.'
However, despite the letter and turnout of campaigners on the day to have their voices heard, the topic was not raised.
The Canadian government has been publicly calling for an end to the 'Frozen Pensions' policy for over four decades and in October last year, a total of 158 Canadian and UK parliamentarians united to urge the Labour Government to redress the situation.
Campaigners are urging Prime Minister Carney to leverage this issue ahead of key trade and defence spending negotiations expected between the two countries amid a complex and volatile geopolitical backdrop.
The 'End Frozen Pensions' campaign argues: 'Canada fairly adjusts pensions for its citizens living in the UK, but the UK's refusal to enter into a reciprocal agreement not only creates an unjust disparity but also imposes a financial burden on Canadian social services.'
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