Commonwealth Countries: Reciprocal Pension Agreements Debate
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Baroness Janke
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Commonwealth Countries: Reciprocal Pension Agreements
Baroness Janke Excerpts(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)
The noble Lord is as impatient as ever, and so are we, to resolve this issue. The Government received a request from Canada in November 2020 to conclude a reciprocal agreement to include indexation of pensions. We will be responding shortly.
Baroness Janke (LD) [V]
My Lords, people with frozen pensions have often lived abroad for more than 15 years and have also lost their vote. Is it not time that the Government restore democratic rights to these citizens, many of whom still pay their taxes in the UK?
Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)
The decision to move abroad is voluntary and a personal choice dependent on the circumstances of the individual. For many years now, advice has been provided on the GOV.UK website that the UK state pension is not uprated overseas, except where there is a legal requirement to do so.