Welcome to the “More” page
so called, because this is the More interesting part of the website
Click on the tabs below for ‘more’……
Membership benefits include:
Our in-house magazine, Justice which is produced three times a year outlining our current lobbying activities with the UK Government
Being kept current on all legislative developments affecting UK pensioners. The rules regarding pensions are changing on a regular basis and we keep our members fully informed on the impact of these changes.
We provide telephone and email access to our office for pension related questions.
We provide regular updates by email on all our activities, and the opportunity to participate in the fight, and make your voice heard.
The UK government speaks of court challenges over the years, and yes, the courts have ruled in your favour. However, is the criteria just whether it’s ‘legal’ or not? In days gone by the slave trade was ‘legal’; and in former days it was also deemed ‘legal’ to deny women the right to vote. Instead of focusing on what may or may not be a ‘legal’ obligation, would it not be better to focus on what is the just and fair thing to do?
After finding out in JUSTICE about pensions for spouses who have never lived in the UK, I contacted CABP about my situation. I retired in 2004 at the age of 65. My wife, whom I married in Canada, was also of pensionable age at that time. CABP volunteer Peter Wells not only answered me but went on to calculate that my contributions to the National Insurance plan while we lived in the UK entitle my wife to a spousal pension of $136 a month and to almost $11,000 in back payments as well. Peter’s calculations were 100% correct. Without this help we wouldn’t have had this windfall. Thank you, Peter!
I took CABP’s advice and applied to pay voluntary NI contributions and received a wonderful monthly increase plus arrears lump sum. The downside was that the sudden influx of money cancelled out my Canadian ‘Guaranteed Income Supplement’ and put me into a tax-paying bracket for the first time in years. I’ll be interested to see how the dust settles next tax time. Anyway, I’m very grateful for your good advice and thank you all for your tireless work on behalf of expat pensioners.
I applied for my UK pension. The correspondence that ensued over the following two years was immense and I gave up on ever receiving it, then a friend mentioned CABP. I was not optimistic, but contacted Alan McFarlane, the Greater Victoria rep, and with his help my pension was flowing within a mere three months. It was also backdated. Thank you for making a meaningful difference in so many lives.
I enclose a membership application and a small donation. It never really occurred to me that I, with a British pension amounting to £0.11 weekly, could actually consider myself a British pensioner. But technically I am, and in your noble fight for all pensioners who are financially discriminated against, every voice counts – even an 11p voice. Thank you for all you are doing.
Thank you very much not only for your recent heartening news update concerning the Australian Pensions Minister’s meeting with Britain’s Iain Duncan Smith, but also for the continuous hard work and determination shown by your dedicated team in this mammoth task you have undertaken. You’re doing a great job and deserve to succeed in the end.
My subscription to CABP is the best value I get anywhere. The CABP team showed me how to increase my UK pension whilst only paying Class 2 contributions. Likewise, I was able to help another CABP member to not only receive a pension (she had been refused earlier) but also to get back-payment of around $7K. I never cease to be amazed that despite the number of times we have been knocked down, the CABP-International Consortium team continues on with grim determination. This is more than praiseworthy to say the least and is an example to all. Many thanks to the CABP team who have kept the faith.
Where my wife and I live, our pensions are not frozen. We would both like to place it on record that we think it a shameful
scandal that pensions in other countries, such as Canada and Australia, are. Here’s hoping that you will obtain the justice you so obviously are entitled to and that your pensions will become index linked.
I am 88 years old and a veteran of the Second World War during which I served in Burma. After listening to Winston Churchill’s post-war exhortations for young Brits to go abroad and after being subjected, along with countless others, to pitches by teams from various countries, I acquiesced. I brought my family to Canada in 1953 with just £10 in my pocket, the legal limit permitted at that time even though my wife suffered from Mitral Stenosis and there were lots of medical expenses we would have to cover. For doing what they wanted, I receive a pension frozen at £300 pounds every three months.
My wife and I attended the public information meeting in Courtenay and were delighted to learn that my wife qualifies for a portion of my basic pension. We had applied in 2005 but were declined as Val was not yet 60 and had an income of more than £55 a week. We did not realize that once she reached 60 there would be no means test and were not given that information when we received the “rejection” letter. We went to the information meeting simply to show our appreciation for all who work to unfreeze British pensions – that appreciation has now grown even more.
My sincere thanks to CABP Rep Alan McFarlane for encouraging me to continue a dialogue with the UK Pension Service regarding the ‘DNE Project’ and the voluntary National Insurance contributions that I could pay. It has taken 18 months to come to a positive conclusion, but without Alan’s help and expertise I probably would have let the whole matter drop long ago.
I too am ‘gob smacked’ by the magnificently energetic efforts being made on our behalf by our very noble volunteer representatives who are dealing so persistently with the powers-that-be in London. I would be glad to offer to return my MBE in support of our cause. I wonder if other recipients of similar honours feel the same as I do?
After reading JUSTICE #4, 2010, I was left with a feeling of euphoria. Why? Because it is clear that the pension uprating battle is being handled masterfully. If you could send me more copies, I will be happy to distribute them to members of UK Connexion. All they may need to join CABP is a nudge, and reading that issue may provide that nudge.
Thanks to Peter Wells’ article Increased pension possible for some, I was able to add about 18% to my pension and I also received the backdated payment he mentioned. Now I will concentrate on getting uprates during our visit to the UK this summer. Without CABP’s help, we would all be much poorer.
I was a Second Mate in the British Merchant Navy and was awarded the Atlantic (Battle of ) medal, North Africa Star, Eighth Army brevet, 1939-1945 Star and Victory Medal. I was on the SS Anselm (some 300 troops and crew lost as a result of being torpedoed in the Atlantic), also carried 1000 tons of bombs, depth charges and landmines (along with officers of the 51st Highland Division) on the SS Fort Nipigon to North Africa for the pivotal Battle of El Alamein. In my old age – I am 89 – my UK pension remains unindexed and has tumbled in value from a peak of $2.40/£1 to $1.57/£1. I wish to record my sincere appreciation for the sterling efforts of all those representing us so ably in pursuit of our relatively modest aim: parity with other pensioners. I sincerely hope you are able to restore our pension rights before we succumb to old age.
I feel that CABP membership is one of the best $25 that I spend each year. I have benefited in many ways by joining. For example, I had seven years of service in the UK, but through CABP I learned about the opportunity of buying back years and making extra years of contributions. Now I have 30 qualifying years
WELCOME TO OUR SUPPORTERS PAGE
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Make your expat project a success!
The contribution to ICBP is the strongest way for Canadian ex-pat pensioners to achieve pension uprating. Much of this contribution to ICBP goes to marketing. That depends upon a robust membership (numerically) and because of this, one of the best things that every member can do is bring in new members.
In 2018, we launched one of our biggest campaigns by setting up a petition on the Change.org platform. That petition is still alive In 2018, we launched one of our biggest campaigns by setting up a petition on the Change.org platform. That petition is still alive
In 2018, we launched one of our biggest campaigns by setting up a petition on the Change.org platform. That petition is still alive
2012
2017
LAST CALL FOR PETITION SIGNATURES
There are over 490,000 Pensioners living in the EU who receive a UK State Pension, and the annual increase that goes with it. Because of Brexit negotiations, they may lose this annual increase. According to The Telegraph, over a 20 year period a UK pensioner will be £50,000 poorer as a result. This may result in them leaving their country of choice in the EU and going back to the UK, and the local EU economy will suffer, given that pensioners tend to be spenders and not savers. We have been fighting for frozen pensioners around the world for over 25 years, and we will be providing a country-by-country breakdown to the leaders of next week’s Frozen Pensions Debate in the House of Commons, on Thursday 20th April. If you have been meaning to sign this petition, and haven’t done it yet, you have until Saturday at midnight, local time. Please sign, and ask all of your friends and family to sign as well. The petition can be found at:
2018
Gillian Mittins started this petition to Boris Johnson (Prime Minister) on behalf of her mother, Anne Puckridge:
“Stop denying my mum and 510,000 other Brits their full UK Pension!”
The petition is still open and attracting signatures as we speak – 267,255 people have so far signed this petition. If it hits 300,000, then it will be one of the most signed petitions that Change.org have ever had.
Gillian described her mother: “This is my mother Anne, a WW2 veteran. She is one of 510,000 Britons who are being defrauded by the British government and one of the estimated 100,000 of these who are military veterans.”.
She goes on to say: “My mother served her country, then she spent the rest of her working-life paying National Insurance. She expected, like the rest of us, that when it was time to retire she would be able to access the pension she had paid into.. But now in her 90s, my mum, who does all her own shopping and cleaning, has to think twice about making a trip to the supermarket, or before buying Christmas gifts for her grandchildren. Why? Because at the age of 76 my mother moved to Canada to be close to her family in old age. And currently there is a loophole that means that if a pensioner moves to another country, the Government can stop paying the full pension that is due. For my Mum a frozen pension means having to choose between a muffin or half a dozen eggs at the checkout, but for others the difference can mean poverty. Many vulnerable overseas pensioners have been forced to return to the UK, leaving their support network and family behind. It’s humiliating. And just plain wrong“.
Anne Puckridge who is our “poster” girl now says that she is “ashamed to be British“.
2021
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16 February 2021 – Tracy Gray, MP presented the following petition to the Canadian Parliament. The Canadian government then had 100 days to respond.
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Petition to the Government of Canada
WHEREAS
a). Worldwide there are nearly half a million pensioners in receipt of a UK state pension which is “frozen” at the same amount as when the pension is first received – i.e. these pensioners never receive an annual cost of living increase to their UK state pension once payments begin. The UK is the only OECD country in the world to discriminate based on country of residence when it comes to providing annual inflationary increases to pension payments.
b). 91% of these pensioners live in four Commonwealth countries – Australia with 228,000, Canada with 128,000, New Zealand with 65,000 and South Africa with 32,000.
c). The UK Government has estimated that to uprate these “frozen” pensions worldwide would cost $1bn a year. Canada’s share of this is $269 million. This has a “spending power” in excess of half a billion dollars a year, which would boost the Canadian economy significantly.
d). UK Governments have consistently said that they will only uprate “frozen” pensions through bilateral agreements. However, in 2013, UK Freedom of Information request 2013/00595 confirmed bilateral agreements were not required in order to uprate “frozen” pensions.
e). Any increase to the UK state pension would be taxable income in the hands of the UK pensioners living in Canada. In addition, since pensioners tend to be spenders rather than savers, then the Canadian federal and provincial governments would also receive a boost via GST and, in most cases, PST.
f). Any increase received by these pensioners living in Canada could mean that they are no longer eligible for GIS and social assistance, and this would represent a saving to the Canadian governments.
g). According to Statistics Canada, as at 2016, there were 828,000 pensioners living in Canada aged 65 and over on “low income”, and, according to the Government of Canada, 10.3% of men and 10.8% of women aged 65 and over were living below the poverty line.
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Signatories of the petition can be found here.
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12 April 2021 – The Government tables their response:
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Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Deb Schulte
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Under UK law, UK State Pensions are paid anywhere in the world. However, for many UK pensioners living in countries outside the UK, including in Canada, their pensions are not adjusted annually for increases in the cost of living. In other words, their pensions are “frozen” and paid at the same rate as they were when they first became entitled, or the date they left the UK if they were already pensioners then. This ultimately erodes the value of these pensions over time.X
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Canada’s long-standing position is that UK pensioners who live in Canada have contributed to the UK pension scheme, and have therefore earned the right to be treated the same way as other UK pensioners.
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Over the years, the Government of Canada has raised, and has sought to address, this issue with the UK, including by proposing that the two countries negotiate a comprehensive social security agreement that would provide for the indexation of UK pensions. To date, UK officials have not engaged on this issue.
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In early 2020, the British Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Frozen British Pensions launched an inquiry regarding the impact of the UK Government’s approach to UK State Pensions paid to UK pensioners living abroad.
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The final report of the APPG was released in December 2020. The Government of Canada presented a submission on UK pensioners living in Canada, for the APPG’s consideration. The submission is consistent with its long-standing position of support for UK pensioners regarding the non-indexation of UK pensions. This submission was approved by the Minister of Seniors in September 2020.
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Minister of Seniors, spoke with the United Kingdom’s APPG on Frozen British Pensions about this issue on February 23, 2021, and reiterated Canada’s position.
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The Government of Canada will continue to raise this issue with the UK through various channels, where appropriate. Canada remains prepared to engage with UK officials should they choose to reconsider their non-indexation policy.
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Response by the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Rachel Bendaya
The Government of Canada understands that the United Kingdom’s (UK) non-indexation policy is of great concern to many UK pensioners residing in Canada. It is important to note that the UK policy of non-indexation stems entirely from its domestic law. A trade agreement is not the appropriate mechanism for advancing the issue of pension indexation by the British government.
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The Government of Canada will, however, continue to raise the issue of non-indexation of UK pensions directly with the UK. We have also made submissions to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British pensions, which was released December 16, 2020. Canada’s longstanding position has been one of support for British pensioners regarding the non-indexation of UK pensions.
In 2002, a UK pensioner living in South Africa, Annette Carson took on the UK establishment and, with help from frozen pension lobby groups around the world, the legal challenge would last 10 years. In those 10 years there were 5 hearings – read more by clicking on each of the images below:
Some of the judges in the Carson case provided positive comments. For example:
Justice Burnton in the very first hearing: “Very many of the expatriate UK pensioners who do not receive uprated pensions have a strong and understandable sense of grievance……They feel that they have been deprived of an increasingly substantial part of the fruit of their contributions……as a result, they have formed associations to press their cause for equal treatment”.
During the course of the first appeal, Lord Justice Laws conceded that the current situation was “haphazard”, quoting the UK Minister of State Jeff Rooker who, on 13 November 2000, said: “I have already said I am not prepared to defend the logic of the present situation. It is illogical. There is no consistent pattern. It does not matter whether it is in the Commonwealth or outside it. We have arrangements with some Commonwealth countries and not with others. Indeed, there are differences among Caribbean countries. This is an historical issue and the situation has existed for years”.
During the House of Lords Appeal, the dissenting judge was Lord Cardwell, who had this to say: “A broader approach might more readily yield a serviceable answer which corresponds with one’s instincts During the House of Lords Appeal, the dissenting judge was Lord Cardwell, who had this to say: “A broader approach might more readily yield a serviceable answer which corresponds with one’s instincts for justice. Once the UK Government started uprating the UK state pension for some pensioners living abroad, then there can be no justification for paying some and not others and less than their peers in the UK”. Lord Carswell therefore allowed the appeal and declared that regulation 3 of the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/910) is unlawful”. justice. Once the UK Government started uprating the UK state pension for some pensioners living abroad, then there can be no justification for paying some and not others and less than their peers in the UK”. Lord Carswell therefore allowed the appeal and declared that regulation 3 of the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/910) is unlawful”.
Whilst Carson and the 12 Applicants lost their first case in the ECHR, the President of the Court, Lech Garlicki was the dissenting view:“Considerations of social justice and equity require that persons who have duly contributed towards the pensions of others should not be treated differently in the subsequent calculations of their own pension“.
In the Grand Chamber hearing, the Grand Chamber determined that frozen pensioners could not claim discrimination compared with those in unfrozen countries because they are not in a relevantly similar position. The latter group are treated differently because an agreement has been entered into, which the UK considers to be in its best interest. whilst Carson and the 12 other Applicants lost 6-3, the dissenting opinion was: “that Article 14, taken in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No 1 had been violated, and that Article 14 on its own had also been violated. All of the Applicants were in the same boat even though their countries of residence may be different. The majority approach regarding “residence” seemed self contradictory, and inconsistent with the spirit of Article 14…….given the characteristics shared by both groups of contributors to the pension system, no relevant differences can be found to justify such a radical and unfavourable difference in their treatment, and the Government do not provide convincing reasons in this regard. The fact of residing in another country cannot be considered sufficient justification”.
“…In the years since that final legal judgment, we have not faltered. Instead, we have steadfastly and assertively employed the only tools now available to us: advocacy and political lobbying. It is truly remarkable how successful this has been”
– Brian Lechem – Chairman (2002-2005, 2010-2012)
BROKEN FAITH
War Veterans are denied their rightful UK Pensions, just because they live in Canada, and NOT the USA!
Please write to your MP here in Canada and the UK – if you need some help. click on this link
PROTEST this long standing INJUSTICE!
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View our ‘Book of Heroes’ which was handed to Pension Minister Steve Webb on the steps of 10 Downing Street, London, on the 16th December 2010.
Help CABP Correct a Long Standing Wrong Inflicted on British Veterans
Click-on the Poppy (and then click on the arrow to the right of each story) and remember our fight for Justice continues
Please donate to our Action Fund today by clicking on the Donate button below.
PENSION SERVICE CONTACT DETAILS
The Pension Service
International Pension Service
Tyneview Park
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1BA
Telephone from outside the UK, 011 44 191 218 7777
email via the website at www.thepensionservice.gov.uk
