Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of uprating the state pension for British pensioners residing overseas.

No assessment has been made.

The UK's policy on the up-rating of the UK State Pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one. The UK state pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.

Up-rating is based on levels of earnings growth and price inflation in the UK which has no direct relevance where the pensioner is resident overseas.

Over many years, priority is given to those living in the United Kingdom when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.