Commonwealth Countries: Reciprocal Pension Agreements

Baroness Eaton Excerpts

Monday 1st March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I regret that I do not have figures for how many Windrush victims have been impacted. The UK state pension is payable worldwide and members of the Windrush generation who have chosen to leave the UK and have reached state pension age will receive annual index-linked increases if they reside in a country where there is a legal requirement to uprate, such as Barbados or Jamaica.

[Baroness Eaton (Con) [V]]

My Lords, many British pensioners living in the EU have been anxious about their pensions since we left the EU. What action have the Government taken to protect British pensioners living in the EU?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The state pension has been uprated in the EU as part of long-standing provisions in EU law before the UK left the EU. The withdrawal agreement ensures that state pensioners who had already moved to the EU to retire while the UK was a member state will continue to have their state pensions uprated.