State Pension History Timeline 1

Payable in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Isle Of Man only, which was a big disincentive for people who wished to emigrate to work and spend their retirement overseas.

This Act allowed pensions to be paid in HM’s Dominions (as a means of encouraging emigration to countries of the British Empire).

HC Hansard  Debate   14 November 1929 vol 231 cc2377-402  (especially 2386)

These Regulations provide that the pension was typically not paid abroad, except it was payable for pensioners in HM Dominions, or when an absence abroad didn’t exceed 12 months.

The first pension increase was from 10 shillings to 26 shillings per week.  This significant increase was not paid abroad because the pensioners concerned were deemed not to have made sufficient contribution to the new insurance scheme. Nothing has changed in 70 years.

Pension increase from £1.30 to £1.50 was not paid abroad.

Pension increase from £1.50 to £1.62 was not paid abroad.

Reciprocal agreements with France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg provided for uprating. There was a special arrangement for UK pensioners living in Ireland to also receive the state pension, but they didn’t receive the uprating until 1966.

….anywhere in the world, but without uprating.

Canadian officials considered whether the arrangements concerning social security agreed in the letters which passed between the Governments of the United Kingdom and Canada on 8 and 10 December 1959, as amended by the exchanges of letters of 7 and 30 November 1961, 9 March 1973 and 10 November 1977 (henceforth referred to as “the former exchanges of letters”) should be consolidated into a single document, with modifications where necessary to take account of changes in legislation – the Consolidated Arrangements on Social Security between Canada and the United Kingdom were finally implemented in October 1994 but they didn’t cover uprating.

By 1963, protests at the unfairness of not uprating the state pension were growing.

“An agreement between the UK and the USA was concluded in 1969, allowing future annual uprating increases to be paid to UK pensioners living in the USA”.

…but Canadian legislation prevented payment of Canadian old age security pension (COASP) under reciprocal agreements with other countries, ruling out the scope for reciprocity in the export of pensions. 

The UK joins the EEC and as a condition of membership the UK was required to pay the indexed UK pension in all 6 EEC countries. In 1993, the EEC becomes the EU.

The UK negotiated reciprocal agreements with 30 countries which allowed for uprating  (Barbados; Bermuda; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Croatia; Guernsey; Isle of Man; Israel; Jamaica; Jersey; Mauritius; Montenegro; the Philippines; Serbia; Turkey; the United States of America; and, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia plus all EU countries).

… to allow COASP to be paid outside Canada. UK Ministers at that time decided that insufficient resources (see Supreme Court below) were available for increasing the rates of the UK state pension payable in Canada.

The newly elected Conservative Government said that the “double lock” increase was “unsustainable” and the annual increase reverted back to the change in prices, rather than prices/earnings.

…with Barbados. Successive UK Governments have decided not to enter into any more reciprocal agreements because they are “too expensive”.

British Pensioners Residing in Canada – Sponsor: Sir John Farr

BRITISH PENSIONERS RESIDING IN CANADA – Sponsor: Sir John Farr

INEQUALITY OF TREATMENT OF BRITISH STATE PENSIONERS LIVING ABROAD – Sponsor: Winston Churchill

INEQUALITY OF TREATMENT OF BRITISH STATE PENSIONERS LIVING ABROAD – Sponsor: Winston Churchill

Consultation On Pensions Uprating (Residence Outside Great Britain) Winston Churchill had tabled a number of amendments to the 1995 Pensions Bill, which were sadly defeated 179 – 39  

(Consultation On Pensions Uprating (Residence Outside Great Britain) Phil Gaillie (Con): “If the Members thought the matter important enough to sign the EDM, they should be present [at 12.30 am] when the business was discussed”

During the passage of the 1995 Pensions Bill, amendments to unfreeze the state pension were tabled in both Houses. All were defeated by large margins.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BRITISH PENSIONERS LIVING ABROAD – Sponsor: Winston Churchill

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BRITISH PENSIONERS LIVING ABROAD    – Sponsor: Winston Churchill

“….and calls on the Government to end without further delay this discrimination against the hero generation who saved the world from Hitler.”

….have had informal discussions with Mr. Pierre Pettigrew, the Canadian Minister for Human Resources Development, who was in London to sign a bilateral agreement with the British Government.

UPRATING OF STATE RETIREMENT PENSIONS PAYABLE TO PEOPLE RESIDENT ABROAD

“Reciprocal social security agreements are not entered into solely with a view to paying annual uprating increases to UK pensioners living abroad. They are not strictly necessary for that purpose as uprating can be achieved through UK domestic legislation”.

“The cost of living increases, however, are only paid to British pensioners living in the EU or in a few countries where special arrangements apply”.

“Many pensioners living in those [frozen] countries…have a deep-rooted sense of grievance at what they see as unfair discrimination against them”.

“…written evidence from Mr. Winston Churchill who has played a leading part in advocating the cause of the expatriate pensioners”.

“In successive sessions, EDMs issued by Mr. Winston Churchill have secured 101, 289, 249, 250, and (to date) 248 signatures. It is unusual for EDMs on any subject to enjoy such a substantial degree of support”.

STATE RETIREMENT PENSIONS TO PEOPLE RESIDENT ABROAD – Sponsor: Winston Churchill

STATE RETIREMENT PENSIONS TO PEOPLE RESIDENT ABROAD – Sponsor: Jeremy Corbyn

…and resisted the urge to revert back to the “double lock” – the higher of changes in prices or earnings …

STATE RETIREMENT PENSIONS TO PEOPLE RESIDENT ABROAD  – Sponsor: Michael Colvin

SOCIAL SECURITY (S.I., 1998, No. 521)  – Sponsor: William Hague

The Convention on Social Security between Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.) came into force.

UP-RATING OF THE STATE RETIREMENT PENSION FOR BRITISH EXPATRIATE PENSIONERS – Sponsor: Peter Bottomley

…led to an increase in state pension of just 75p a week. The Sunday Express said: 

“Paltry 75p a week is an insult to all pensioners”

The Labour Government committed to raise the state pension by the higher of CPI or 2.5%. This was only available to pensioners living in the UK or in a country that had a reciprocal arrangement with the UK.

Annette Carson, a UK pensioner residing in South Africa sues the UK Government in the Administration Court of the Queen’s Bench Division in the High Court of Justice. Carson lost, but was given leave to appeal. Costs were awarded against Carson.

…..there were 482,000 pensioners who received a UK state pension that was “frozen”.

… was held in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in the Supreme Court on 17th June 2003.  Carson lost her appeal, but was given leave to appeal to the House of Lords.

“Should we penalise those who retire overseas to be with their children, or should we say, ”You’ve worked hard and paid hard. It’s your pension—take it with our blessing”?

“As you may be aware, there is currently a Pension Bill passing through Parliament. I will take this opportunity to table an amendment, seeking to uprate the

‘frozen pensions’ of expatriates”

“Some have ceased to be well off because they have been retired for a long time on a frozen pension. We are not talking about feathering the nest of the favoured few, but justice. It is said that they knew what they were doing. I have met overseas pensioners who say that that was far from clear at the time.” 

FROZEN PENSIONS – Sponsor: Nick Harvey

…was heard by the Lords of Appeal in the House of Lords.  Carson lost this appeal 3 votes to 1. In Lord Carswell’s opinion, Carson and her fellow “frozen” pensioners “can only hope that their appeals to logic and a sense of fair play will eventually prevail, contrary to their experience to date”.

…but the Labour Government would restore the earnings link, from 2012….

FROZEN PENSIONS – Sponsor: Nick Harvey

UPRATING OF FROZEN PENSIONS Sponsor: David Laws

SOCIAL SECURITY (S.I., 2006, No. 712) Sponsor: Sir Menzies Campbell

The CABP were extremely grateful to the West Midlands Regional Secretary of the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), for printing 646 copies of an open letter in support of EDM 1851 and then mailing it.

Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister said Canada and Britain were close allies with many shared values as countries and societies. These included human rights, individual freedom, and openness to trade and business.

FROZEN PENSIONS Sponsor: Michael Connarty

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations (S.I. 2007, No. 775). Sponsor: Sir Menzies Campbell

Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 775, the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2007 Sponsor: Sir Peter Bottomley

FROZEN PENSIONS (NO. 2) – Sponsor: Michael Connarty

OVERSEAS PENSION PARITY – Sponsor: Michael Connarty

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations (S.I. 2008, No. 667) – Sponsor: Nick Clegg

OVERSEAS PENSION PARITY – Sponsor: Michael Connarty

…was asked which countries received the uprating. Her response: All countries in the EEA, and those countries where there is a reciprocal arrangement – Barbados, Bermuda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Guernsey (and other Channel Islands), Isle of Man, Israel, Jamaica, Mauritius, Montenegro, the Philippines, Serbia, Turkey, USA (and includes America Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands), and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Carson, along with 12 Applicants from Australia and Canada, had their case heard by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Fourth Section (Lower Chamber) in Strasbourg. The Canadian contingent included: Robert Buchanan, Geoff Dancer, Kenneth Dean, Terence Doyle, John Gould, Bernard Jackson, Ethel Kendall, and Venice Stewart. Age Concern were a third party in the hearing. Carson lost the class action, but was allowed to appeal to the ECHR Upper Chamber.

Carson, along with the same 12 Applicants from the Lower Chamber hearing, had their appeal heard by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), (Grand Chamber) in Strasbourg. Carson and the Applicants lost the case and had run out of appeals. 

CABP helped to fund the entire case, along with organisations in Australia and South Africa. The Canadian Government who had been following the hearings very closely also chipped in with two significant contributions.

In 2004, when he was the Liberal lead spokesperson on Work and Pensions, Steve Webb said:

“The purpose of the new clause is to provide that the pensions of those who now live overseas should be annually uprated, wherever they live”.

The “triple lock” annual state pension increase is based on the higher of CPI, Earnings, or 2.5%, and is announced in the Autumn of one year but is not payable until the April of the following year.

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS UP-RATING REGULATIONS 2011 –  Sponsor: Penny Mordaunt

UK Government recognizes that their freezing policy is a product of history and not of rationality

“The Australian Government…strongly supports the efforts of UK pensioners seeking equal treatment on the indexation issue. All UK pensioners paid their contributions under the same rules and should be paid their pensions under equal conditions.”

Senator Percy E. Downe writes to Minister Flaherty asking him if the Canadian Government is attempting to resolve the “frozen” UK State Pension issue

Disappointingly but not surprisingly, the Government’s White Paper: The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving does not include any change to the status quo regarding pension freezing. QC Tim Otty has condensed the mountain of legal evidence he presented to the European Court of Human Rights into one very concise but meaty document. One of our Members travelled to London from Peterborough at her own expense to provide her affidavit.

Senator Percy E. Downe writes to Minister Flaherty again asking him if the Canadian Government is attempting to resolve the “frozen” UK State Pension issue

“We are committed to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, for all without discrimination.”

On the same day as the Queen signed the Commonwealth Charter, UK Pensions Minister Steve Webb informed a Work and Pensions Select Committee hearing on the pension reforms white paper that the freezing policy would continue to be imposed against selected pensioners.

Open Letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron based on the conflicting information given a week earlier between the tenets of the Commonwealth Charter, and the evidence Steve Webb gave before the Work and Pensions Select Committee.

Part 1 of the draft Pensions Bill ….

FROZEN PENSIONS – Sponsor: Sir Peter Bottomley

Greg McClymont MP (Lab) tables to Amendments to Clause 20 of the new Pensions Bill.

Steve Webb MP (LibDem) Response to Amendments to Clause 20 of the new Pensions Bill.

What a difference 9 years make….

A Message for Discriminating MPs

OVERSEAS PENSIONERS   – Sponsor: Sir Peter Bottomley

OVERSEAS PENSIONERS   – Sponsor: Sir Peter Bottomley

Sir Peter was well prepped for the debate even though there was only 6 minutes left on the clock…..

Information Pack for Peers….

PARTIAL UPRATING FOR FROZEN PENSIONS – Sponsor: Sir Nick Harvey.

Sir Peter Bottomley, made an appeal for unfreezing pensions during the Budget debate. You can see the text in this link. It is the 3rd paragraph down.

BRITISH PENSIONERS OVERSEAS – Sponsor: Yasmin Qureshi

BRITISH OVERSEAS PENSIONS – Sponsor: Dr. Paul Monaghan

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations(S.I. 2016, No. 246) – Sponsor: Ian Blackford

The ICBP, with input from the CABP put forward the case for “partial uprating” – draw a line in the sand, and going forward, uprate all UK pensioners, regardless of the country they retired to, with the same increase so that at least new pensioners living in “frozen” countries will be treated in the same way as if they lived in the UK.

UPRATING OF FROZEN PENSIONS – Sponsor: Ian Blackford

…and the Conservative Governments of 2015 and 2019 have committed to keeping the “triple lock” in place for all pensioners living in the UK, the EEA and other countries that have reciprocal agreements with the UK.

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations (S.I. 2017, No. 349) – Sponsor: Ian Blackford

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2017 (S.I., 2017, No. 349) – Sponsor: Jeremy Corbyn

UK reaches agreement with the EEA EFTA states (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and Switzerland maintaining the annual uprating of the UK state pension post Brexit.

This ensures that the 135,000 pensioners living in Ireland continue to get the annual “triple lock” increase to their UK state pension.

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019, No. 552) – Sponsor: Sir Peter Bottomley

Government U-turn could cut pensions for hundreds of thousands living abroad.

Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP):

“Many of my constituents have relatives in Canada or Australia, for example, and they continually raise the issue of frozen pensions, about which I fully agree with them“.

Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituents raise pension asking the Government to unfreeze pensions

The Withdrawal Agreement maintains the “transfer of benefits” (which includes the State Pension) post Brexit. However, as an interim measure State Pension uprating is guaranteed until March 2023. What this means is that if there is a “No Brexit” deal, uprating for UK pensioners living in the EU comes to an end in March 2023.

Support for UK pensioners living abroad with frozen pensions – Sponsor: Nigel Evans

Written question: “To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on the effect on veterans of the freeze on pensions for UK citizens living overseas“.

The response was that the DWP and the Ministry of Defence have had no dialogue.

Commonwealth Day and frozen pensions – Sponsor: Sir Peter Bottomley

UK Veterans and frozen pensions – Sponsor: Neil Gray

Antiguan calls for the end of Frozen Pension Policy

Chris Stephens (SNP), tables two amendments to unfreeze UK state pension.

Lord Randall of Uxbridge speaks out against the UK Government’s frozen pensions policy.

Lord Randall of Uxbridge again raises an amendment  against the UK Government’s frozen pensions policy.