Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of (a) the cost to the public purse of increasing the State Pension paid to UK pensioners resident overseas to the level it would have been had it increased in line with inflation in each year since 2010 and (b) the cost to the public purse of continuing to increase the State Pension paid to UK pensioners resident overseas in line with inflation in each year between 2023 and 2030, starting from that value.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years.

In response to (a): No recent assessment has been made of the annual cost of uprating the UK State Pension to UK pensioners living abroad.

In response to (b): The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.