Upcoming Annual General Meeting February 2020
February 17, 2020 Frozen British Pensions 7 Comments
The 2020 Annual General Meeting of the APPG for Frozen British Pensions is being held on Tuesday 25th February in Room B, 1 Parliament Street from 10am-11am.
The APPG will be meeting to officially reform the group in the new Parliament and elect officers. This issue is more important than ever, given the uncertainty over the pensions of UK pensioners living in the EU this last year and the Government’s recent commitment to unilaterally uprate the pensions of UK pensioners living in the EU in the EU Withdrawal Act. This contradicts the Government’s argument that it would need reciprocal agreements to uprate the pensions of UK pensioners overseas in ‘frozen’ countries.
We hope to welcome new parliamentarians with an interest in this issue as well our valued APPG members from both the Commons and Lords.
Gary Pinner
February 20, 2020 - 5:44 am
I retired in August 2018 after 49 years of work and moved to Thailand, so I am affected by the frozen pension policy.
All I ever read about is the Government stating what the cost would be to end this unfair policy.
My thought is that the Government is happy to allocate a large amount in foreign aid. Then why not the Government deduct the extra cost of paying out on the frozen pension from this aid budget.
We are UK citizens living in a foreign country so we could receive the extra money as aid to improve our lives in our old age. Not only are we not receiving an upgrade each year, but are affected by the exchange rates on what we receive. The Thai Baht was 52 to the £1 on 23rd June 2016. Next morning it was 42, and in the last 6 months it has gone as low as 36.
The Government says it would cost to much to change, but what would it cost if all pensioners returned home to live. They would have increase pensions, but we would need the NHS and many people may need care homes
Robin Davidson
March 5, 2020 - 8:04 pm
I see that the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2020 has been published in draft for. Can someone tell me where the section is that freezes our pensions?
Fight the just fight, hoping that the minutes of the AGM will be published soon and we can get more members onboard particularly from those newly elected MPs.
Thanks
Brian Corrigan
March 15, 2020 - 5:58 am
When are we going to see the minutes of the meeting?
Frank Sanders
March 22, 2020 - 11:40 am
It seems the UK is able to defer the Frozen Pension issue with excuses way beyond any decent creditable reason.
With the world entering a recession and countries offering stimulus payments why is the UK dragging its feet and avoiding payments to overseas ex-pats?
Do they really believe this will go away on its own and upgrading will never happen.
To QUOTE Oscar WILDE
“{We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars “}
The problem is UK has a shameful history of injustice this is another incident.
Francois Grobler
April 6, 2020 - 4:54 pm
I always believed the Bristish Government and people to be fair and just.
I do not use the NHS ( has to pay privately for medical care here in South Africa) do not use the roads, water, elctricity, the buses, the trains,etc. in the UK.
I have paid all my taxes on time during my working days, paid my national insurance and yet I am penalised for living in South Africa.
This is a great injustice to all expats, but complaints simply fall onto deaf ears.
One after the other meetings are held but nothing is really happening.
I suppose with the Corona virus outbreak there will be a new argument from Government that there will not be enough money to pay expats there rightfully earned pensions.
This is a shame on the British Goverment !
Donald Rumsey
May 7, 2020 - 1:18 pm
And now the government has put the boot in again, I was notified about three months ago that it was going to happen and it has, they have stopped the marriage allowance which in my case was 47-65 pounds per month, reducing my pension to 85-86 pounds a month, this compares to 175 pounds a month full pension in the UK.
I worked PAYE all my life and was never out of work, so my nat. ins. was fully paid up, this is absolutly disgusting.
And because I have a small second pension that keeps me just within the pay tax bracket I have to pay tax !!!adding insult to injury.
Mr Jeff Cantwell
January 11, 2021 - 1:07 am
I retired to Gambia on reaching 65 iv worked all my working life in the UK for 59 years without a break I played NI stamps for the 59 years
When I moved to Gambia I was totally unaware that my pension would be frozen nor did I know that I had to inform the pension people ( Government).I did 3 years of receiving the yearly pension rise I also received 3 cold weather payments
The inter national pension people did not pay my pension one month so I found their number and rang them up they asked me where I was phoneing from.so innocently I told them it was then that they hit me with a bombshell that I was not entitled to the pension rises or the cold weather payments and I had to pay it all back I must say that they talked to me as if I was a bank robber .I explained that 3 off my friends who retired to Spain got the same rises and cold weather payments with no problems so I assumed we all got the same
Anyway I ended repaying well over £1300 back to them at £70 a month for a very long time and believe me it was a struggle I grid to get the reyoayment amount reduced but they did not want to know they talked to me as if I was a criminal which I suppose in their eyes I was
Its disgusting that we have to obay the governments decision to keep this 70 year old antiquated law going
What was it that the minister for works and pensions stand up in the house and say on the 29th July 2020 ?/THE GIVERNMENT ARE COMMITED TO ENSURE THAT OLDER PEOOLE (US) ARE ABLE TO LIVE WITH THE DUGNITY AND RESPECT THAT THEY DESERVE.
NOT BAD FRIM THERESE COFFEY WHO IS ON £81-932 A YEAR SALARY AND ONE IF THE HIGHEST EXPENSE CLAUMERS OF MPsCLAUMUNG £27-000 FOR THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 2029