Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential financial impact of not uprating the State Pension for recipients living in countries without a reciprocal social security agreement on pensioners in those countries; and whether he plans to review this policy.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating. There are no plans to change this policy.

National Insurance contributions and credits determine whether, and at what level, a person is entitled to State Pension. They do not determine whether a State Pension paid overseas is uprated each year. Overseas uprating depends on the country in which the pensioner lives and whether the UK has a legal basis for uprating there.

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

This approach has been supported by successive governments, over many years with priority given to those living in the UK when drawing up expenditure plans for pensioner benefits, and this policy has been upheld in courts.

Information about the impact on State Pensions of moving abroad is available on Gov.uk.