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British insurers warn hard Brexit could prevent overseas pension payments
| Published: | 25 Jul at 6 PM |
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The trade body of British insurers has warned the government that crashing out of the EU may invalidate the payment of British pensions overseas.
In its starkest warning yet, the Association of British Insurers has informed the UK‘s Commons Brexit Committee the payment of UK private pensions overseas will be illegal should the UK crash out of the European Union without a deal. Pensioners who have their payments sent to an EU bank in their adopted countries may not be able to receive them. Although it’s likely that payments could still be received in some member states, those living in other EU countries may not be so lucky.
The bad news was given to chair of the committee Hilary Benn by Huw Evans, director general of the trade association. Benn’s immediate response suggested he wasn’t aware of the risk, even although the threat to British pensioners overseas has been in the news several times since the Brexit referendum. Labour MP Andrew Adonis, a champion of campaign group Best for Britain and its call for a final referendum on any proposed Brexit deal, called the issue ‘daylight robbery’ for expat retirees potentially affected. He blamed the Conservative Party for betraying pensioners before the recent general election and doing so again by refusing to consider the effect on expat retirees living overseas on their regular private or work-related pension payments.
The situation, he added, calls for a peoples’ vote including the option to stay within the European Union. Mr Evans also warned that tourists as well as expats would be forced to pay far more for emergency healthcare in EU countries as the EEC health card would not longer be valid. In addition, he pointed out that millions of British-based insurance contracts would be in legal limbo as a result of a hard Brexit as it would be illegal for them to pay claims to expats or tourists who find themselves in hospital in the EU.
In its starkest warning yet, the Association of British Insurers has informed the UK‘s Commons Brexit Committee the payment of UK private pensions overseas will be illegal should the UK crash out of the European Union without a deal. Pensioners who have their payments sent to an EU bank in their adopted countries may not be able to receive them. Although it’s likely that payments could still be received in some member states, those living in other EU countries may not be so lucky.
The bad news was given to chair of the committee Hilary Benn by Huw Evans, director general of the trade association. Benn’s immediate response suggested he wasn’t aware of the risk, even although the threat to British pensioners overseas has been in the news several times since the Brexit referendum. Labour MP Andrew Adonis, a champion of campaign group Best for Britain and its call for a final referendum on any proposed Brexit deal, called the issue ‘daylight robbery’ for expat retirees potentially affected. He blamed the Conservative Party for betraying pensioners before the recent general election and doing so again by refusing to consider the effect on expat retirees living overseas on their regular private or work-related pension payments.
The situation, he added, calls for a peoples’ vote including the option to stay within the European Union. Mr Evans also warned that tourists as well as expats would be forced to pay far more for emergency healthcare in EU countries as the EEC health card would not longer be valid. In addition, he pointed out that millions of British-based insurance contracts would be in legal limbo as a result of a hard Brexit as it would be illegal for them to pay claims to expats or tourists who find themselves in hospital in the EU.
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