State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

(asked on 17th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions 2020 inquiry, published on 16 December, that a majority of pensioners emigrating to countries where a freeze on state pension payments applies were not informed that their pension would be frozen before they left the UK.


This question was answered on 5th January 2021

The Government has not made an assessment of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions 2020 inquiry or its findings. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. It is up-rated where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example, where recipients are living in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. The Government has no plans to change the policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas; the policy is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. The Government understands that people move abroad for many reasons and that this can have an impact on their finances. However, the decision to move abroad remains a personal choice. Advice that the UK State Pension is not up-rated overseas except where there is a legal requirement has been provided to the public for many years. Information is provided in leaflets and on gov.uk.

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