State pension: 500,000 Britons set to miss out on 10.1 percent boost next year | Personal Finance | Finance
The state pension will rise next month as the triple lock makes its return. While mention of the state pension was omitted in Wednesday’s Budget, last year the Chancellor reaffirmed his commitment to the triple lock.
It will see the sum rise by 10.1 percent, in line with September 2022’s CPI inflation figure.
However, this “bumper” increase is not guaranteed to all pensioners, as it will depend on where they live.
The state pension will only rise for Britons living in the following countries and areas:
- The UK
- European Economic Area (EEA)
- Gibraltar
- Switzerland
- Countries with a social security agreement with the UK (but not Canada or New Zealand).
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As a result, Britons who do not live in an area on the list will not get the 10.1 percent rise.
Instead, they will see their state pension frozen at the level it was when they left the country or an eligible area.
The End Frozen Pensions campaign estimates some 500,000 people are impacted in this way.
The group, alongside Silver Voices, is now campaigning to call on all political parties to agree to end frozen pensions.
They argue this could be achieved through entering into new reciprocal social security agreements as soon as possible.
A change.org petition has gained nearly 75,000 signatures at the time of writing, meaning it is one of the most signed on the website.
Several people explained their reasons for signing the petition to end frozen pensions.
Gary Stevens wrote: “Having paid National Insurance for 45 years, if I moved abroad, I’d have my pension frozen. It is a disgrace.”
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Stan Roulston said: “Commonwealth frozen pensions is discriminatory, unfair and a put down on previous loyal nations.”
William Barr added: “I served in the Merchant Navy for nearly 30 years. My company asked me to come ashore and open an operations department in Montreal. Like many others I continued to pay my National Insurance contribution until I was 65.
“I am now approaching my 89th birthday and my pension has been frozen for nearly 24 years. I hate to think how much money the UK has deprived me of over these years.”
Dorinda Hafner added: “This is grossly unfair! My British pension is one of the ones that is not indexed, and I desperately need that extra money.”
The APPG for frozen pensions states more than 90 percent of frozen pensioners live in Commonwealth countries.
As a result, they have argued the current policy is “unjust” as it is “unequally applied” depending on the country a person moves to live in.
Those who want to move abroad can contact the International Pension Centre for advice on how their pension might be affected.
A DWP spokesperson previously told Express.co.uk: “The Government’s policy on the uprating of the UK state pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one of more than 70 years. We continue to uprate state pensions overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so.”
