UK Frozen Pensions

[Rossmoyne]

Whilst most of the members of this forum are well under pension age, I know that there are also UK Pensioners living in Australia who have a Frozen Pension.    Meaning that your UK pension is frozen from the moment you first access it.   This anomaly only happens to those of us in Commonwealth Countries and does not apply to those UK pensioners living anywhere else around the world.    This seems totally unfair to me, and also to a lot of other Brits in this situation, as we are being discriminated against.

Fairly recently I discovered that there was an Association in Australia called "British Pensioners in Australia", or BPiA.   This group have got together with other UK pensioners in other Commonwealth countries and are putting together a submission to the UK Parliament to rectify this situation on the basis of discrimination.   There are over 500,000 of us around the world, a not insignificant number, and BPiA need all the support they can get.

I have recently joined this Association, and I suggest that any other Pom in Oz who is suffering this frozen pension rubbish, might like to have a google and add their name to the many of us supporting the action.

Forum Rules forbid me adding email contact details or a web address, but google is your friend.  

If this is your situation, please join us in our submission to correct this discrimination.

 

[ramot]

1 hour ago, Rossmoyne said:

Whilst most of the members of this forum are well under pension age, I know that there are also UK Pensioners living in Australia who have a Frozen Pension.    Meaning that your UK pension is frozen from the moment you first access it.   This anomaly only happens to those of us in Commonwealth Countries and does not apply to those UK pensioners living anywhere else around the world.    This seems totally unfair to me, and also to a lot of other Brits in this situation, as we are being discriminated against.

Fairly recently I discovered that there was an Association in Australia called "British Pensioners in Australia", or BPiA.   This group have got together with other UK pensioners in other Commonwealth countries and are putting together a submission to the UK Parliament to rectify this situation on the basis of discrimination.   There are over 500,000 of us around the world, a not insignificant number, and BPiA need all the support they can get.

I have recently joined this Association, and I suggest that any other Pom in Oz who is suffering this frozen pension rubbish, might like to have a google and add their name to the many of us supporting the action.

Forum Rules forbid me adding email contact details or a web address, but google is your friend.  

If this is your situation, please join us in our submission to correct this discrimination.

 

Have been a member a long time and have seen previous submissions rejected. Annette Carsens? case in 2002 was well reported when she lost her case and Jeff Rooker labour MP and minister said the freezing of the state pension was illogical but that made no difference sadly. 

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

Hi Ross

There should be no issue in posting the link, its a project to assist British expats it really isn't a commercial venture and I understand it to be run by volunteers.

I believe that the Chariman Jim Tilley is a member on here, this is the site for other interested in the work they are doing: https://www.bpia.org.au/index.php/about 

 

[Rossmoyne]

On 27/07/2020 at 08:27, Andrew from Vista Financial said:

Hi Ross

There should be no issue in posting the link, its a project to assist British expats it really isn't a commercial venture and I understand it to be run by volunteers.

I believe that the Chariman Jim Tilley is a member on here, this is the site for other interested in the work they are doing: https://www.bpia.org.au/index.php/about 

 

Thanks Andrew for posting the link.  

[Rossmoyne]

On 26/07/2020 at 17:39, ramot said:

Have been a member a long time and have seen previous submissions rejected. Annette Carsens? case in 2002 was well reported when she lost her case and Jeff Rooker labour MP and minister said the freezing of the state pension was illogical but that made no difference sadly. 

Just hoping that we can get further this time.   Never had an inquiry before, so that is a bonus!    Did you send a submission to the inquiry or complete the Survey online?

 

[Ken]

On 26/07/2020 at 19:39, ramot said:

Have been a member a long time and have seen previous submissions rejected. Annette Carsens? case in 2002 was well reported when she lost her case and Jeff Rooker labour MP and minister said the freezing of the state pension was illogical but that made no difference sadly. 

I really don't see the British government making any unilateral changes however illogical the situation might be. They want the Australian government to pay a larger share of the pensions of Australians in the UK in return for their paying a larger share of the pensions of Britons in Australia. The Australian government aren't willing to do this (because they'd have to do the same for Australians worldwide) so nothing is going to happen.

[ramot]

34 minutes ago, Ken said:

I really don't see the British government making any unilateral changes however illogical the situation might be. They want the Australian government to pay a larger share of the pensions of Australians in the UK in return for their paying a larger share of the pensions of Britons in Australia. The Australian government aren't willing to do this (because they'd have to do the same for Australians worldwide) so nothing is going to happen.

That  was in 2002 Ken, and I was just pointing out that even though a labour government minister was sympathetic at that time, it was irrelevant as nothing was going to change. BEIA keeps trying to gain support but no petition has made any difference or I think sadly likely to. Would be nice to have the increase, but we all knew it was frozen when we came here. We do get the increase for the time we spend in UK most years.

[Mike@Bonbeach]

After 10years in Australia you can then qualify for the age pension and depending on your assessment it does help out a lot especially when they adjust it as the pound/dollar fluctuates. Works out ( for me anyway) that the UK age pension combined with the Aussie pension roughly equates to what the current UK aged pension is.  

[Rossmoyne]

On 26/07/2020 at 17:39, ramot said:

Have been a member a long time and have seen previous submissions rejected. Annette Carsens? case in 2002 was well reported when she lost her case and Jeff Rooker labour MP and minister said the freezing of the state pension was illogical but that made no difference sadly. 

Yes but now the Association is doing well with the latest attempt to get the Brit government to look at it.   Have a google of their website and perhaps consider contributing with comments or money.  

 

[Rossmoyne]

On 27/07/2020 at 08:27, Andrew from Vista Financial said:

Hi Ross

There should be no issue in posting the link, its a project to assist British expats it really isn't a commercial venture and I understand it to be run by volunteers.

I believe that the Chariman Jim Tilley is a member on here, this is the site for other interested in the work they are doing: https://www.bpia.org.au/index.php/about 

 

Thanks Andrew.  I have made contact with Jim Tilley.  Amazing man with incredible intelligence and forward thinking.

[Jim Tilley]

As Rossmoyne says, many British using this website have not reached UK pension age yet, but as one of BPiA's committee, a not for profit association of British expats, our business model is designed to, not only achieve fair and equal UK pension indexing for all Australia's retired UK expats, but also to assist any one, including any nationality, who has worked in the UK, discover any UK pension to which they may be entitled, and if insufficient mandatory contributions have been made, how to make voluntary contributions to the UK to reach the required National Insurance contributions required to be entitled to some additional retirement income. 

BPiA seeks to help any expat who approaches us and is prepared to subscribe to BPiA's membership and thus help fund our international fight v the UK Government, to force them to eventually index all UK pensions fairly and equally; i.e. compatible with basic principles incorporated in the Rule of Law. 

More can be read about BPiA in these articles from National Seniors  https://nationalseniors.com.au/members/our-generation/member-matters/frozen-british-expat-pensioners-urged-to-keep-on-fighting  and Startsat60  https://startsat60.com/money/retirement/pension/uk-state-pension-australia-british-pensioners-freezing?utm_source=sendinblue.com&utm_campaign=SAS Money Club - 31 Jan 2020%2C 5%3A51am&utm_medium=email&uuid=d23b4d5f-9730-4137-bc5b-fba4e2971a20 .

BPiA, as a founder member of the International Consortium of British Pensioners, has also recently achieved excellent supportive publicity in the London Times  https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pensions-apartheid-is-keeping-expats-trapped-in-the-past-p5mj2pfjf and various other UK quality UK media organizations, including the BBC,  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52547281# and http://www.bbc.com/news/business-23755588.

We have also helped several older expats recover a UK pension to which they were unaware of being entitled  viz;- https://www.thesenior.com.au/financial/pension-win-a-feather-in-groups-cap-but-more-to-do/.

Any one using this website and who seeks help in improving their eventual retirement income and/or wish to help fund our fight to achieve fairness and equality from a disingenuous UK Government, please contact BPiA at the 1300 phone number or via our website included in some of these attached articles.  

  

[Jim Tilley]

On 27/07/2020 at 10:27, Andrew from Vista Financial said:

Hi Ross

There should be no issue in posting the link, its a project to assist British expats it really isn't a commercial venture and I understand it to be run by volunteers.

I believe that the Chariman Jim Tilley is a member on here, this is the site for other interested in the work they are doing: https://www.bpia.org.au/index.php/about 

 

BPiA welcomes all who are interested to force the UK Government to uprate fairly all UK pensions. Read about the issue at www.endfrozenpensions.org  and join BPiA for $20 at their website www.bpia.org.au. your small contribution to BPiA's crowd-fund will help us pay for the PR team who promote our cause with outrageous examples like this one published at the end of WW2 on VJ day https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1323371/state-pension-uk-pensions-poverty-second-world-war-Patricia-Coulthard-letter

[Marisawright]

Surely the problem is that there needs to be agreement on both sides? The UK is not going to change its pension rule until Australia does