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Fight for unfrozen expat pensions attracts international support
| Published: | 8 Apr at 6 PM |
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Following David Cameron’s somewhat half-hearted and decidedly unofficial support for unfreezing 5,600,000 British state pensions paid to expats overseas, the word seems to finally be spreading.
Leading overseas pension provider Pryce Warner International has thrown its hat into the fray, stating that the British pension system is flawed in its bias towards over half a million retirees living in 120 countries without UK reciprocal arrangements. The firm’s director of operations, David Retikin, believes that retirees are being maneuvered into repatriation without the effect on the UK’s social service and NHS resources being considered.
Retikin accused the state pension system of mistreating overseas pensioners for far too long, adding that many of the most vulnerable of those living overseas are struggling to find ways to supplement their dwindling monthly payments. Frozen pensions are affected by currency movements and inflation, and are now under threat of being taxed in the UK via the probable withdrawal of the £10,000 personal tax-free allowance.
MPs have dismissed the issue, stating that overseas retirees don’t use their voting right, although even that is cancelled 15 years after they leave the UK, with Retkin believing that parliament’s general attitude to the issue perhaps indicates the root of the problem.
However, the UK Election Commission is urging expats all over the world to register online to vote, both in the upcoming EU elections and next year’s UK General Election.
Affected pensioners are not calling for back payments of the amounts they have lost over years or, in many cases, decades. Campaigners are simply demanding the pension rights common to retirees resident in the UK, as they’ve paid in similar amounts over their working lives in expectation of a full state pension.
Inter-party support for the International Consortium of British Pensioners is slowly racking up, with hopes now resting on governmental departments to strengthen their case. If expats entitled to vote actually do so, their votes in the 2015 General Election could have a surprising effect.
Leading overseas pension provider Pryce Warner International has thrown its hat into the fray, stating that the British pension system is flawed in its bias towards over half a million retirees living in 120 countries without UK reciprocal arrangements. The firm’s director of operations, David Retikin, believes that retirees are being maneuvered into repatriation without the effect on the UK’s social service and NHS resources being considered.
Retikin accused the state pension system of mistreating overseas pensioners for far too long, adding that many of the most vulnerable of those living overseas are struggling to find ways to supplement their dwindling monthly payments. Frozen pensions are affected by currency movements and inflation, and are now under threat of being taxed in the UK via the probable withdrawal of the £10,000 personal tax-free allowance.
MPs have dismissed the issue, stating that overseas retirees don’t use their voting right, although even that is cancelled 15 years after they leave the UK, with Retkin believing that parliament’s general attitude to the issue perhaps indicates the root of the problem.
However, the UK Election Commission is urging expats all over the world to register online to vote, both in the upcoming EU elections and next year’s UK General Election.
Affected pensioners are not calling for back payments of the amounts they have lost over years or, in many cases, decades. Campaigners are simply demanding the pension rights common to retirees resident in the UK, as they’ve paid in similar amounts over their working lives in expectation of a full state pension.
Inter-party support for the International Consortium of British Pensioners is slowly racking up, with hopes now resting on governmental departments to strengthen their case. If expats entitled to vote actually do so, their votes in the 2015 General Election could have a surprising effect.
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