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See and Hear Ron and Bob Talking Pensions |
The British Pension Anomaly
The first version is on YouTube and is suitable for broadband users
YouTube - The British Pension Anomaly
This version is for slower connections including ISDN and dial-up users
If your connection is slow the download may appear to be jerky, but if you wait patiently and let it complete you can then "watch again", or whatever your video reader says, and see it right through the second time.
The script isprinted in full below.
SCRIPT
“THE BRITISH PENSION ANOMALY”
RON My name’s Ron, I live in America – they call us 'limeys'.
BOB G’day, my name’s bob, I live in Australia – they call us 'poms'.
RON I retired seven years ago and moved to America for the lifestyle.
BOB I retired seven years ago and moved to Australia to be with my grandchildren.
RON America rebelled in 1776 and left the Commonwealth, but the UK still treats me as well as if I’d stayed in the UK. My pension is index linked.
BOB Australia is a member of the old Commonwealth. Many British pensioners come here to be with their families but the UK treats them like outcasts. Their pensions are frozen.
RON When I retired in 1999 my British pension was £66.75 per week.
BOB When I retired in 1999 my British pension was £66.75 per week.
RON I now get £84.25 per week.
BOB I still get £66.75 per week. That’s what I mean when I say that my pension is frozen.
RON They claim that it would cost a lot of money to index all pensions.
BOB Not a lot of money, less than one percent of the annual pensions budget.
Britain pays fully indexed pensions to half its expat pensioners – to the USA and the Philippines, the whole of the EU, including the new members from East Europe, Turkey, Israel, and Bosnia, but, although we all paid the same contributions, it withholds the up-rating of its pensioners in the Commonwealth – all to save less than one percent of the pensions budget.
There are people here in their 90’s still getting less than ten pounds a week; the same as when they retired.
Where’s the justice in that?
This is a "docudrama", a fact-based presentation of a real world situation. The people playing the two characters are resident in Australia. The anomaly they discuss is a real result of the discrimination practised by the UK.
Script by James Nelson and Graham Lassiter. Technical production by Barbara Lassiter.