17 Mar 2010

More than half a million UK pensioners living overseas will continue to have their pensions frozen after a European court decision this week.

A group of pensioners including the British Pensioners in Australia group and the British Australian Pensioners Association took their appeal to the European court of Human Rights where it was rejected.
Currently those who retire to countries outside the US or Europe have their pensions frozen. This includes the thousands who retire to Australia each year who’s pension rate could be as low as just £6 a week depending upon the level of pension paid at the time of retirement. This is despite the thousands of pounds people paid into the compulsory system throughout their working lives. It is estimated that this decision will save the British Government around £500m each year.

The British government claims its first responsibility is to pensioners living in the UK, however there are agreements in place with non-commonwealth countries such as the US and Israel where British Expats enjoy increases in their pensions in line with the general cost of living.

It is expected that the campaign will continue as many Australian and Canadian pensioners are not ready to give up the fight. To find out more about the campaign visit the International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP) website. http://www.pension-parity-uk.com/.

Those looking to migrate to Australia are encouraged to seek financial advice early on in their move in order to ensure they are aware of all the facts and find out what they are entitled to.