|
Frozen
Expat Pension 'Saga' enters next stage
(16/8/2004)
The long-running saga of the
'frozen' ex-pat pensions enters its next stage as the UK House of Lords announces date to consider appeal.
Many ex-pat pensioners have UK pensions frozen at levels from the 1970s and earlier due to a seemingly irrational anomaly. Pensioners who retire abroad still receive their UK state pensions, but some do not receive the annual up-grading in line with inflation because they live in certain countries. British expatriate pensioners living in Canada, for instance, do not receive an annual upgrade, whereas pensioners who moved to the USA - even just a few miles across the border - do.
South African pensioner Annette Carson took a test case to through the UK courts in an attempt to force the UK government to rectify the anomaly. She lost the case in the High Court and appealed to the House of Lords. The appeal will be heard in February 2005.
The government essentially argues that since no treaties are in force with the non-upgrading countries, it is under no legal obligation to increase pensions for the sometimes poverty stricken ex-pats. More than half of the 930,000 British pensioners living abroad do not receive an annual inflation upgrade leaving some with a weekly UK pension of
£10 and less.
Campaigners hope to force the government to treat all UK ex-pat pensioners living abroad identically since they have all paid national insurance equally.
Because of this anomaly and the obvious deficiencies of the
gratuity packages that are common in the Gulf region, many Gulf based expatriates choose to establish an international
offshore pension plan that allows them to contribute towards their retirement whilst living in the Gulf and once they return home or are relocated.
You may request further information on this article by completing our online Information
Request Form.
|
