Frozen British Pensions Still On Their Way To The European Court Of Human Rights
August 17, 2007 3:01 pm Canada, societyUnfortunately one unfinished piece of business that Tony Blair could not handle before resigning was the inequitable treatment for half of the UK pensioners who have chosen to live outside the UK. Since he was on record as a staunch proponent of the need to be “even-handed, fair and just in our application of our values to the world“, it was somewhat surprising that those affected are still forced to seek equity via the European Court Of Human Rights.
For those unaware of what is happening, a short video from Australia gives a quick summary. Ron in the US gets a fully indexed UK pension while Bob in Australia does not. Listen to them as they explain the situation.
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As the latest issue of Justice For Expatriate British Pensioners (July 2007) explains, it should be a no-brainer for the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. The arguments are overwhelming:
- All pensioners have already funded their own pensions during their working lives, but inflationary increases are blocked each year for less than 5% of these pensioners.
- The cost of correcting this inequity would be less than 1% of the National Insurance budget.
- The National Insurance Fund has an accumulated surplus of ?38.5 billion, more than 90 times the annual cost of correcting the inequity
- A majority of Members of Parliament in a free vote would now support the unfreezing of these pensions.
- Pensioners who have emigrated are a lesser charge on the UK social services system so this anomaly which forces some pensioners to stay in the UK and not join their children in certain countries is working against the UK economic interest.
Clearly Gordon Brown has a number of weighty dossiers to consider, but this no-brainer should be quickly dispatched if he has a moment. It seems so inefficient that the European Court Of Human Rights should be asked to rule on this, when there are so many more arguable cases for them to consider.
If you or any members of your family are affected by this in any way or merely want to get involved on a cause that affects so many more vulnerable members of society, then contact by e-mail the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners or its Quebec representative, Mary Kapadia. Or if you are a UK citizen, you can sign the Petition at Number 10 at the link below.
UPDATE: Unfreezepensions petition – The UK Government Responds
FURTHER UPDATE: If you want to keep up the pressure, and why not, sign up for another petition that Roy and Joan Brentnall have started on the same topic. After all it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.
Related:
Frozen Pensions Petition At Number 10
Canadians’ Pensions Frozen
Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners (website)
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March 12th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Do you know if there is a similar organisation to yours in South Africa?
March 13th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I did a little searching, Roger, but couldn’t find one. Perhaps another visitor to this post may know of one and can give details.
April 16th, 2008 at 10:35 am
http://www.byte.co.za/britishpensioners/
this site is the South African Pensioners website
April 16th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Thanks, Linda. That’s most helpful.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:26 am
this is just one area that has seen the government being prejudice towards pensioners. The new law that starts april 6th 2010 does a huge misjustice to older pensioners. I retire one day earlier than april 6th and have only 20 years service so I get 20 years of 44 years (which is standard) but if I retire one day later that this date I get 20 years of 30 which will be standard that’s a 25% difference in money because the government decided to draw a line in the sand. Is that a fair and equitable situation. It is just another way of screwing the pensioners in a country that spends a great deal of it’s time bragging about helping foreign countries get what they deserve. WELL what about their own people.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:31 am
bad news here
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 am
The real problem, George, is that so often government departments, who develop policies, rarely think sufficiently about being customer-centric. Unfortunately there’s no penalty for them if something they do is unfair to ‘their customers’.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
I agree but I have been sending petitions and mail to everyone to get this adjusted but it is hopeless. I cannot seem to get support from any groups or papers of this injustice. I have been told by MP’s to wait till I retire and complain…what an attitude.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:46 am
George, did you try an e-petition to 10 Downing Street. There must be lots of others in this situation. It’s just another way of being visible. The website for that is: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:59 am
yes I did I have been very busy doing everyting I can to make people aware of ths stupid law. Most peope are just blind till it hits them between the eyes.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 am
Well, George, perhaps these comments will give your cause additional visibility. This post is quite widely read, since it is mentioned on the British Australian Pensioners Home Page: http://www.britishpensions.org.au/index.html