Frozen People in the Land of Promise
by
Pensioners who live in the UK have their state pension uprated every April, sometimes by a miserably small 75 pence. But even this niggardly increase is denied to those who have been brave enough to help populate the far flung reaches of the "empire". And this despite the fact that they have paid the same contributions as pensioners who reside in the UK.
Here are some examples:
An 87-year-old widower emigrated to Canada when he was aged 51. Because he did not complete his lifetime contributions, he is not entitled to a full pension, which is fair enough. But since his retirement date his pension has been frozen in time at £13.49 per week. If he lived in the UK with the same contribution history, his pension would now be £46+ per week. Currently he has been deprived of over twenty-one thousand pounds, just because he responded to the government's desire to populate the "colonies". One 96-year-old widow has a pension of £3.38 per week.
Most pensioners in Australia are not as badly off as that, because they either get the Australian pension or else are "too well off". (Australian pensions are all means tested). But those who emigrated to South Africa are particularly badly off, because SA has only a minimum social security pension and it is heavily means tested. An 88-year-old living in South Africa has a pension of £13.62 compared with £56+ for a stay-at-home with the same contribution record.
Not only is the basic state pension frozen, but SERPS pensions are also frozen, despite the fact that SERPS was supposed to be run like a private occupational scheme – and occupational schemes are not permitted to discriminate against expatriates. Retired civil servants get their pension uprated each year, no matter where they live, and so do retired politicians and retired Major-Generals. But state pensions are only uprated if you live in the UK or a number of other countries. You get it if you live in Atlanta, but not if you live in Adelaide.
How did all this come about?
Well, the story starts in 1946 when the pension, which had been fixed at 10/- for 20 years, was lifted to 26/-. This was just before the introduction of the National Insurance Scheme. It was decided not to grant the increase to overseas pensioners, because they would never be members of the new NIS. By the way, pensions were not payable at all except in the UK and "His Majesty's Dominions".
When the pension scheme was altered in 1955 to permit payment anywhere in the world, the pound was under stress, and tourists were not allowed to take more than £55 out of the country, it was decided not to pay any increases to overseas residents.
Since then, Britain joined Europe, and agreed to grant annual upratings to pensioners who lived in any EC country. Later, they entered into a reciprocal agreement with the USA and many other countries. But the reciprocal agreement with Australia had been concluded in 1954, and no mention was made of annual uprating. Perhaps it was not a big issue at the time. The agreement neither prescribes nor proscribes annual upratings – it is just silent on the subject. So the UK governments, over all these years, have just stubbornly refused to consider changing this policy.
Mr Rooker has twice recently admitted that the system is illogical, once on the BBC on 16th October, and once in Parliament on 13th November. Australia has terminated this unfair treaty and is trying to negotiate a new one which would grant uprating to UK pensioners resident in Oz. But Mr Rooker (and his Conservative predecessor) smugly says that any move to increase these pensions would only benefit the Australian Treasury.
On such comments are international relations built!
To read the whole horror story, surf over to http://www.britishpensions.org.au/
If you have elderly relatives who may decide to go and live with their children or grandchildren in Canada or Australia or South Africa, tell them not to expect a sympathetic hearing from the British Government.
James Nelson F.F.A.
Vice President British Australian Pensioner Association
email: rainbowf@tpg.com.au
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