Half a million British pensioners abroad are set to miss out on the financial boost from the return of the state pension triple lock, analysis from the deVere Group has revealed.
DeVere Group CEO, Nigel Green, stated that, whilst the triple lock was good news for many retirees, as it could mean a financial boost of around £1,000 a year, “not everyone will benefit”, with an estimated 500,000 retired Brits who live abroad not expected to 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,” Green continued.
“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.”
Green pointed out that this would affect pensioners differently depending on the country they live in, explaining that 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, while others will not.
“The majority of affected pensioners live in some of the biggest Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and Canada,” he stated.
“Despite paying taxes all their working lives in the UK, and the national insurance in full, these Brits will completely miss out on the rise given to others.
“It seems completely unjust that someone living in the U.S. will receive an extra £1,000, yet someone just across the border in Canada, in the same situation, will not.”
To remedy the issue, Green called on Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to scrap the policy of “penalising” the 500,000 retired expats by “denying them annual inflation adjustments solely on the basis of where they have chosen to live in retirement”.
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