Hundreds of thousands of older Brits living abroad are going to miss out on the financial boost from the return of the State Pension triple lock, warns the CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management and fintech organisations.
The warning from Nigel Green, of deVere Group, which has more than 80,000 expat clients, comes as the UK Government prepares to reintroduce the triple lock in April, which will see the New and Basic State Pension increase by 10.1 per cent - the September Consumer Price Index rate (CPI). The triple lock policy is a UK Government commitment to uprate State Pensions annually by the highest between inflation, average earnings, or 2.5 per cent.
It means those on the full New State Pension will see payments increase from £185.15 per week to £203.85 and those on the Basic State Pension will see weekly payments rise from £141.85 to £156.20.
The deVere CEO said: “Clearly, this is good news for many retirees as it could mean a financial boost of around £1,000 a year.” But he warned that not all State Pensioners will benefit from the double digit uprating.
Mr Green explained: “An estimated 500,000 retired Brits who live abroad will not receive any boost at all. Outrageously, they will continue to have their pensions frozen in value at the point of retirement date or date of emigration.
“Having a frozen pension means that your retirement income falls in real terms year on year due to inflation - and never has this been more true than as the cost of living has soared.”
Retired expats in the European Economic Area (EEA) will continue to receive annual increases to their State Pensions under the triple lock scheme, as will those in a host of other countries including the United States, the Philippines and Turkey.
But the majority of affected State Pensioners live in some of the biggest Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and Canada, and, despite paying taxes all their working lives in the UK, and National Insurance Contributions in full, these Brits will miss out on the rise given to others.
Mr Green said: “It seems completely unjust that someone living in the USA will receive an extra £1,000, yet someone just across the border in Canada, in the same situation, will not.”
Ahead of the UK Budget on March 15, the deVere CEO is calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to “scrap the policy of penalising 500,000-plus British pensioners” - including many retired doctors, nurses, police officers, teachers and other public sector workers - by denying them annual inflation adjustments “solely on the basis of where they have chosen to live in retirement, which is their free choice to make.”
He added: “It’s a national scandal that the UK Government is intentionally neglecting its older people abroad, pushing many into poverty. These retirees held up their end of the deal by fully contributing to the system when in the UK. The government must now do the right thing and uphold their side too.”
Below is everything you need to know about the increase to both sets of State Pension payments.
Full New State Pension
You are eligible for the New State Pension if you are:
- a man born on or after April 6, 1951
- a woman born on or after April 6, 1953
New State Pension payment rates
- Weekly rate: £203.85, an increase of £18.70 from £185.15
- Four-weekly rate: £815.40, an increase of £74.80 from £740.60
Basic State Pension (Category A or B)
You are eligible for the Basic State Pension if you are:
- a man born before April 6, 1951
- a woman born before April 6, 1953
Basic State Pension payment rates
- Weekly rate: £156.20, an increase of £14.35 from £141.85
- Four-weekly rate: £624.80, an increase of £57.40 from £567.40
Widow’s Pension
- Standard rate: £139.10 (from £126.35)
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