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Also Pensions unfreeze as Europe
expands, a Paul Lewis story.
An
interesting judgement from Strasburg.
Peers discuss Frozen Pensions.
Brazier presses for better pension rights.
Report from Canada on the Queen's recent visit
October 24 2002
Pensions unfreeze as Europe expands
Nearly 2,600 British expatriates will soon receive increases to their state pensions if plans to expand the European Union go ahead.
Ten countries are set to join the EU in time for elections to the European Parliament in June 2004. The UK currently refuses to pay the full state pension to expatriates living in seven of those countries. Instead, their pensions are frozen at the rate they were first paid abroad. But once their adopted countries join the European Union they will be treated like all other EU citizens and get their UK state pensions paid in full.
The biggest group to benefit live in Poland. Around 1,800 people who live there receive frozen UK pensions averaging £33 a week. If those pensions are all increased to the full £75.50 a week paid in the UK, it would cost the Government about £4 million a year, and up to another £2 million a year to pay the full pensions to the 800 people living in the six other frozen countries which are due to join the EU in two years' time. Not long after they join, three others, Bulgaria and Romania, where UK pensions are frozen, and possibly Turkey, where they are not, are set to join, bringing the membership of the European Union up to 28 members.
The addition of another nine countries to the 40 states and territories where pensions are already paid in full will be a further blow to the credibility of the UK's policy of refusing to pay annual increases to the state pension in the rest of the world.
In November 2000 Jeff (now Lord) Rooker was Pensions Minister in the Department of Social Security, and he told the Commons: "I am not prepared to defend the logic of the present situation. It is illogical. There is no consistent pattern. This is a historical issue and the situation has existed for years.
"It would cost some £300 million to change the policy for all concerned. We must also consider that as the European Union expands - pension upratings are, naturally, paid in the EU - the issue will not go away. I accept that."
The addition of a dozen pensioners living in Bulgaria to the ranks of those who get a full UK pension will expose the lack of logic still further. Most frozen pensioners live in just four countries - Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa - all of which would claim stronger historical ties to the UK than the East European candidates for EU membership.
Even within the EU there are strange anomalies. The Northern half of the island of St Martin in the Caribbean counts as part of France and so the two people there who receive a UK pension have it increased each year. The Southern half, known as St Maarten, is part of the Netherlands Antilles. Although that belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it does not count as part of the European Union. So UK pensions are frozen for the 11 people there who have an entitlement to one.
An
interesting judgment from Strasbourg
Also see our Useful links page
Widower wins Equal Rights case 11.06.02
Victory for Willis after six year battle
The European Court of Human Rights have today ruled in favour of a British man
who was denied the same widow’s benefits as a woman by the British government in
1996.Kevin Willis, a 45 year old man from the South West lost his wife Marlene
to cancer in June 1996. Mr. Willis applied for the same benefits as a widow
would be entitled to if their husband had died but was refused.
The judgment was made today following Kevin Willis’ claim, which was supported
by the Child Poverty Action Group that he was discriminated against in respect
of his family life and right to property under the
European Convention of Human Rights.
Speaking shortly after the decision was announced, Stewart Wright, Legal Officer
at CPAG said,'This is a victory for Kevin Willis and a victory for his long and
courageous fight for justice.
'Today's judgement shows clearly that the British government were wrong to
discriminate against Kevin Willis because he is a man.
'This ground breaking decision by the court of human rights has made clear that
the original decision by the British government was wrong and unfair.
The biggest winner today is equality. 'This decision means that not only will
Kevin receive most of the benefits he should have been entitled too, but now the
Government must pay the same benefits to all men in the same position, as long
as they have made a claim for the benefits.
'The Government have dragged its feet over paying out money to widowers like
Kevin and we would expect them now to give an immediate commitment to pay all
benefits due to men.'
By TELEGRAPH REPORTER
EXPATRIATES' frozen pensions were discussed in the House of Lords last week
when Lord Mackie attacked the iniquities of a system by which pensioners were
eligible for increases in some countries but not others.
In reply Baroness Hollis, the work and pensions minister, said that annual
upratings depended on arrangements with individual countries or the European
Union. "We have a reciprocal agreement with the US whereas we do not have one
with Canada," she said.
She disagreed with a claim by Lord Davies that people who had earned their
pensions while working in Britain were entitled to full benefits.
"The state retirement pension of current pensioners is funded by current taxpayers, "Lady Hollis said.
She said the scheme was contributory "only in the sense that one's contributions entitle one to a pension. They do not necessarily entitle one to an uprating".
Lady Hollis also pointed out that the issue was addressed by a series of Acts of Parliament, all of which had been passed under different administrations by "an overwhelming majority".
She refused to comment on the case of Annette Carson, who is appealing against the dismissal of her frozen pension test case against the Government.
Mrs Carson said last month that she was appealing "not just for myself but for the half a million frozen pensioners around the world".
Lady Hollis confirmed that the cost of unfreezing expat pensions would be £400 million a year.
The correct address for the South African Alliance of British Pensioners is: PO Box 1650,. Cramerview 2060, South Africa; tel: (27) 11 7063284.
Also appealing for a "fighting fund" is the British Australian Pensioner Association, PO Box 550. Burpengary, Queensland 4505; www.britishpensions.org.au
BRAZIER PRESSES FOR BETTER PENSION
RIGHTS FOR BRITISH PENSIONERS LIVING IN
COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES
In a session of the State Pension Credit Bill Committee Julian Brazier spoke out on behalf of pensioners discriminated against by the tax and social security system because circumstances dictated they live abroad.
Mr. Brazier: ... As many Committee members will know, several countries that have the closest links with this country, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which contain many pensioners who fought on our behalf in the war, are excluded from indexing for the state pension. Therefore, those who have paid into the national insurance system all their lives and who choose in their late 60s to go to Australia, Canada or New Zealand - several other countries are also affected - receive from that moment on no indexing of their state pension.
As the clause is worded, we seem to be in danger of introducing two more perverse incentives among all the perverse incentives in the increasingly complicated legislation relating to pensioners. The first relates to someone who has just qualified for his state pension and who would receive the topup who is considering going abroad, perhaps to Australia, Canada or another country where, perhaps, like me, he has cousins. Are we to say to him not only, "Off you go. Goodbye. You made all those contributions, but you will not receive any indexing on your state pension," but, "By the way, you'd better not go abroad until after your first assessment, and five years later we shall strip your state pension credit from you"?
Tuesday 16Apr11 2002 (Morning): Standing Committee A State Pension Credit Bill [Lords] (Column Number: 25/26).
Afterwards Julian Said, "There is a very important principle at stake regarding this issue. Each of us, over the course of our working life, make a deal with the government. The government takes a percentage of our hard earned pay on the understanding that upon retirement the state will pay back that money we've invested. Not to do so is a cheat and a lie, because it's the government, or these pensioners live abroad, it doesn't make the lie any more acceptable. People who fought for their country or worked hard all their lives and now chose to live abroad -for good and valid reasons- are not being paid all the debt they're owed. It is particularly sad that it is those countries we are closest to where the discrimination applies.