Pension Fact Sheet 1
Issued on behalf of British Age Pensioner Allianceassocthese Fact Sheets support the 20 year story of the fight for PARITY by 540,500 UK State Pensioners.  Why should they be deprived of annual indexation of their pensions because they live in certain countries while another 565,000,living in other countries, are not ?

Fact: When pensions were first introduced, they were only payable in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Fact: Subsequently; a provision was included in the Contributory Pensions Act 1929 enabling pensions to be paid in His Majesty’s dominions (broadly the countries which formed the Commonwealth).

Fact: In 1946 the pension was increased from 50p a week to £1.30 with 80p for the wives of pensioners. However the increase was not paid to overseas pensioners.

Fact: That ruling has remained in force ever since, resulting in the inequity of what we now call the Frozen Pension policy of the United Kingdom.

Fact: British Citizens who choose to retire to a Commonwealth country, and some others, are still denied their full pension entitlement from the date they leave Britain, or having done so, reach pensionable age; while those who retire to the USA or Europe now receive full indexation every year.

Fact: Ever since 1950 political parties in opposition have stated, time and time again, that this policy is wrong, and that all pensioners should be paid their full entitlement in accordance with their mandatory contributions to the National Insurance Fund. However, on gaining power, those same political parties have reneged on their assurances.

Fact: For over 20 years Frozen pensioners around the world, about 550,000 of them, have been fighting for Pension Parity through the Courts.

Fact: The cases in the British Courts all failed, the 2008 case before the European Court of Human Rights also failed, though the President of the Court disagreed with the Judgement.

Fact: The Appeal to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR, was heard on the 2nd September 2009. The Judgement was revealed in March. We lost 11/6. But this is not the end of the fight.

For more information, log on to the web site

http://www.britishpensions.org.au/

or email info@britishpensions.org.au