Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2017 to Question 108399, whether there are any factors legally preventing her from granting up-rated state pensions to all overseas UK pensioners regardless of whether the UK has a reciprocal agreement with their country of residence.

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations restrict for overseas residents the annual increases in certain benefits, including state pensions. This continues the long-standing policy of not up-rating the state pension in payment to people who are overseas residents, except where there is a legal requirement to up-rate for example the European Union Co-ordination Regulations and Reciprocal Agreements that allow for up-rating.