APPG enquiry reort in "this is money"
clive walford
The APPG survey many of us took part in is referred to in the “This is Money,co UK“ article. The article is a good well written one by a member of that financial web site, not a member of the APPG. Therefore it is subject to editorial staffs wording, opinion and interpretation, therefore it is open to questioning and suggestions for them to consider and the APPG, and frozen pensioners to clarify issues.. You can add your comments to the article and copy them to the APPG and your own Group.. My comments are therefore, based on what I read.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/.../MPs-rally-support...
1)
“British MPs rally support from Canada and Australia to end 'disgrace' and 'shame' of frozen expat pensions”.
“Canada and Australia say they have pressed for a change in policy by UK”.
Canada, which is home to 150,000 elderly British expats, has recently asked the UK to negotiate a reciprocal social security agreement covering the uprating of pensions”.
Both Canadian and Australian governments stated previously to the UK Pensioner groups in their country, that the withholding of uprating was carried out by UK domestic legislation, (secondary), and those two gov’ts could have no say in it. With no disrespect to the two countries government, the UK gov’t is “thumbing its nose” at them.
To that I can only suggest that those two gov’ts have not “gone for the throat” in the past. Gov’ts to gov’t buddies act? A phrase I use in other areas applies. “Sipping tea and dunking digestives?” Why ask to negotiate new agreements? NO AGREEMENTS ARE NECESSARY. The report to the DSS committee clearly states these agreements are not actually required to uprate pensions. These agreements are primarily to cover WORKERS. All the UK gov’t has to do is drop the annual Regulation. Annul the section 20 of the PENSION ACT 2014, (plus previous Acts associated to pensions). Mrs May started the idea of EU law being used in ENGLISH DOMESTIC LAW. This gov’t seems to be doing the same. (what “secret Bills have gone through without knowledge to us?). One might say the gov’t is “fiddling the law” to maintain the political whim that the frozen pension policy really is.
THE PRIMARY UK LEGISLATION IS “ALL PERSONS REACHING PENSIONABLE AGE, AND HAVE THE REQUIRED CONTRIBUTORY YEARS ARE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE THE STATE PENSION.
2)
“The APPG has issued report (based on their survey) on hardship faced by many expats”.
If we look back at the origins of the pension scheme, the conception was to provide a minimal income to survive on when retired from working. (The first real humanitarian action of a gov’t?). The uprating surely was to provide an increase to maintain that minimum survival income. To withhold that increase therefore, increases the hardship faced by many of the 510,000 expat pensioners to maintain “survival” level.
{in 2000 the State Pension was £67.50 in the UK. Today in the UK it is £134.25
If you retired to a frozen country, then on £67.50 pension, today your pension will still be £67.50!
If you retired to a non-frozen country, then on £67.50 pension, today your pension will still be £135.50!}
New Zealand just gets on with it and support the UK pensioners so that they end up receiving the same standard state pension overall as New Zealanders! Could one describe that as the UK gov’t being parasitical?
3) The article correctly quotes the gov’t statement that British expats in the European Union will continue to get annual increases in the state pension, plus health rights, as long as they reside there before 31 Dec 2020!
What they did not refer to is the previous statements, at the time, from Cameron, May, Johnson, Altman, Rudd, that “we must see that UK pensioners in the EU maintain the uprating for all they did for us in the war and post war years”.(Does that infer the 510,000 did nothing in the war?)
4) “the APPG notes that the UK is the only country in the OECD” - -that discriminate based on where you live. (the article did not mention the UK pension is also the lowest.
The UK gov’t added “plus health rights” in their statement. The health arrangements are nothing to do with the UK pension. Another dirty trick by the government to infer UK domestic legislation is in EU/UK legislation.
5)
The government manifesto says “equality, fairness and justice to all”. Good words indeed. A pity they don’t work to it where pensioners are involved. (and on other issues).
Equality means all persons in a recognised group are treated equally. State pensioners, or more accurately, UK State Pension recipients, are one defined group. Equally, they are all required to pay NIS contributions at the same rate. So for fairness they should be paid out equally, giving justice to all.
However, Guy Opperman, Pension minister states that The Government continues to believe that priority should be given to those living in Great Britain when it comes to expenditure on pensioner benefits. I thank Brian B for his
Research inti definitions.
A), Priority:- 1) the fact or condition of being regarded or treated as more important than others. 2) A thing that is regarded as more important than others.
B), Discrimination:-1) the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, sex, or disability. 2) recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another
"discrimination between right and wrong”.
As he says “you can see, there really is no difference between the two. Therefore, Opperman - in saying that UK prioritises - is actually admitting to discrimination. Wonder if the legal eagles have picked this up?”
6)
There are thousands of non-British citizens that receive that pension. All are entitled to the UK pension providing they meet the primary legislation of reaching pensionable age and have the required contributory years. Why are they left out in the cold when frozen pensions are discussed?
7)
The chairman of the ICBP says “Denying over half a million UK pensioners the pension they deserve and paid for is an outrage and simply unacceptable and this report makes clear that it has rightly become an international embarrassment”.
It has been an international embarrassment for 25 years, from when groups started to campaign against the UKs gov’ts discrimination. You will also see it from the input from the Australian and Canadian gov’ts. Plus world wide input from frozen pensioners worldwide. Perhaps the groups, idividuals and press did not emphasize it enough. Perhaps now it can be used with greater impact showing the UK gov’t up for what it is on this issue.
8) The APPG MPs expressed concern in particular about the impact of frozen pensions on UK veterans. (When the scheme was introduced just after the war ended politicians applauded it as being a “reward” for the returning troops). Those that moved overseas could keep their medals but not their entitled uprated pensions). Every year on anniversaries of the end of the war, D-day and remembrance day campaigners highlight those war heroes subjected to the frozen pension policy. The gov’t rode over the campaigning and accusations of shame and disgrace.
This year of course they can now claim they are taking a step towards full parity by introducing partial, (or in their words going forward), uprating.
What does that do for those “frozen” war heroes? It actually adds a further discrimination between frozen pensioners. Our 95 year old will get a few pennies on hid £40 pension but the 75 year old gets pounds. Basically that goes on until all frozen pensioners have died. SO HE WHO PAYS IN LONGEST GETS LEAST.
THE GOV’T SAYS ITS CHEAPER THAN GIVING PARITY. WE SAY GIVE US BACK OUR SECURED NIS FUNDS AND PAY FOR PARITY, (A MERE £590 MILLION FROM £35 BILLION.
Gary The Wiz Edwards
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