Minister says UK state pensioners will be given 'priority' by DWP

The state pension increases every year thanks to the triple lock guarantee, boosting each payment to ensure it keeps up with inflation. However, nearly half a million British retirees are not entitled to this annual rise, with some having received the same rate for decades. This is known as 'frozen pensions', affecting those who relocated to certain countries that have no reciprocal agreement with the UK. These include Canada, New Zealand, Thailand and South Africa, with campaigners pushing for reform for years. Responding to a question from a fellow MP, Pensions Minister Torsten Bell set out what assessment the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has undertaken regarding the impact of frozen state pensions on UK pensioners residing abroad. He highlighted how longstanding this policy is and made it clear there are no immediate plans to change it. He wrote : "The UK's policy on the up-rating of the UK State Pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one. "The UK State Pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so. "This approach has been supported by successive governments, over many years, with priority given to those living in the UK when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits." When someone's state pension falls under the frozen pensions policy, it means they have moved to a country where the UK isn't legally required to increase their payments in line with how it would have done if they'd stayed in Britain. While pensioners keep receiving the same state pension they were entitled to when they first left the UK, that amount steadily loses its purchasing power as inflation climbs. In the worst cases, some people are getting just £20 a week, according to the End Frozen Pensions campaign , a stark contrast to today's full new state pension of £241.30 a week. The campaign states: "Many of these pensioners have committed their working lives to British society, including over 60,000 veterans and many civil servants. The frozen pensions policy is a political choice and an accident of history. It could be ended unilaterally by the UK through domestic legislation." Campaigners further claim that 86 per cent of retirees now affected by this policy had no idea their state pension would be frozen before leaving the UK. The full list of countries with an arrangement with the UK for uprated state pension payments can be found on the Gov.uk website.