British ex-pats fight for pension rights
A group of disgruntled British pensioners living in Canada are in court today pleading with the European Court of Human Rights to end years of injustice.
The pensioners say they're being discriminated against because of a longstanding British policy that denies them the annual inflation adjustments enjoyed by stay-at-home British retirees as well as most British ex-pats.Hey, that could be your grandmother.
If you're retired in, for example, the U.S., Switzerland, Jamaica, Israel, Barbados, Bermuda or any European Union country, you get an indexed pension. But if you live here, you're out of luck.
About 500,000 British ex-pats are affected by the policy, including more than 150,000 in Canada, says the International Consortium of British Pensioners which has lost previous battles with both the British courts and a lower ECHR court.This is the latest stage in the long-running legal challenge and the eventual decision will likely mean the end of the line in the legal process. In the meantime, click here for more info on the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners' lobby activities to date.
Tell us. Does this affect anyone in your family?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Wendy F | Sep 5, 2021 11:44:23 AM
Both of my parents started work at a very young age in Britain...they lived through WW2, cut short educations to help support themselves/families, and my father served 12 yrs in the British Navy...
It is sad to see that people that were born in, and contributed to their country to the best of their abilities, are punished by their government because they chose to take their family to Canada!
Had they chosen to go to the USA it wouldn't be a problem...they would have fully indexed pensions!
This battle has gone on for many, many years...simply trying to give expat Brits what they deserve...a decent retirement...
Both my MUM (yes spelled with a U, out of respect for her), and Dad worked hard their entire lives, especially so since coming to Canada, where they had no family, to build a life that was going somewhere for their 5 children..they deserve better than to be "frozen out" by their country of birth.
The small pension that my Mum receives every month (my father has passed away), fluctuates in amount based on the dollar...it doesn't come close to covering her living expenses, and she (and my father) have always claimed it on their Canadian income taxes...honest beyond a doubt.....
I hope that this court case points out to Britain and the world that this is wrong, and these pensioners get what they would receive had they stayed in Britain!!
Posted by: JLOPPY | Sep 5, 2021 11:52:20 AM
A British pensioner should be paid the same pension he/she is due especially if they choose to live in a Commonwealth country. If we need a European Court or any other justice system to tell this we are all in big trouble.
Posted by: Ian Page | Sep 5, 2021 11:58:23 AM
I worked 13 years in England before coming to live and work in Canada and have just started to receive the pension that entitles me to. As of now it is frozen. I am one of those contributing to the fight to change that. A check will reveal that British pensions, already the stingiest in Europe have had there value further reduced by the recent devaluation of the great british pound. The Brit. govt. admits there is no logic or reason to this, they do it because they can. Steve, your statement is wrong! The pension fund in Britain has a very large and growing surplus, the indexing would cost less than half a percent of that surplus. If I would return to England it would cost the govt. much more in health care and other costs than the value of that indexation. Wanna guess if I would go back to live there??
Posted by: Russ Johnson | Sep 6, 2021 3:02:02 AM
Okay, okay, yes we are all hurting through this injustice. Bickering amongst ourselves with our peronal stories won'ty help diddly squat. How about us all being in Ottawa the next time the Queen comes and flood the place with banners telling Her Magesty that HER government discriminates against us. The Royals hate being embarrassed, and it would also capture the eye of the International media. So lets quit the infighter and turn that energy into fighting the real enemy.
Posted by: Russ Johnson | Sep 6, 2021 3:11:02 AM
Okay, okay, yes we are all hurting through this injustice. Bickering amongst ourselves with our personal stories won't help diddly squat. How about us all being in Ottawa the next time the Queen comes and flood the place with banners telling Her Majesty that HER government discriminates against us. The Royals hate being embarrassed, and it would also capture the eye of the International media. So lets quit the infighter and turn that energy into fighting the real enemy. (Corrected version)
Posted by: sasha | Sep 8, 2021 8:10:43 AM
It does not matter where in the world you live or retire to because you have paid all your contributions and many of us have also 'topped up' our pensions as asked to do by the Pensions Department. Those people who do not understand what we are complaining about, should say nothing. We are the ones suffering - not them. We know that the British Govt. has plenty of money to be able to pay us uprated pensions. They should look closely at new immigrants and fraudsters who are enjoying the money which could be given to us as it is rightful to do so and not penalise us because they cant do their proper checks. We are not spoiled, as some would say. Many of us are just about coping with the little pension that we receive. Some of us do not have enough and depend on the goodwill of others. We are very hopeful that this time the ECHR will do the right thing for us and not cause us any more heartache. Thank you ECHR.
Posted by: Chad | Sep 8, 2021 7:45:52 PM
Sorry Charles but mom and mum are both accepted in Canadian English. One of the many words preserving our British heritage and making us different from the Americans. Others include defence, neighbour, colour, dishelleved, dolour, centre, manoeuvre, marvelled, pretence, paycheque...
Research is a good thing... especially if you are going to correct someone.
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Posted by: Diana | Nov 14, 2021 1:35:12 PM
We are in the same boat and hope it changes. However should you visit the UK on holiday call the pension office and they will increase your payment for the time of your stay. It wasnt a problem, they do it all the time. However you will need your Nat Ins number to do this.