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By Lord Shipley - 9th March 2011
Lord Shipley criticises the government's "discriminatory policy" of freezing the level of state pensions paid to Britons who emigrate when they retire.
With increasing attention being paid to how our elderly generations will fare as the cuts begin to bite, there is one important anomaly that must not be overlooked by those campaigning for a fairer deal for all pensioners. For more than half a century thousands of British workers have been getting a raw deal if they choose to retire abroad.
While some, who move to Europe or the United States, can feel confident that the pension they have worked hard for and contributed to during their lives is secure into the future, others, who move to Commonwealth countries including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, find their pension dwindle to nothing over the years.
This is because the government continues to uphold a discriminatory policy of freezing British basic state pension payments at the same level year on year for anyone living in 156 countries around the world. The policy currently affects more than 500,000 British pensioners, almost half of all British pensioners who live overseas.
However as our elderly generations are now increasingly well travelled and worldly, the likelihood is that more of us will want to move abroad in retirement, to join family or friends or to enjoy a different quality of life. As long as this discrimination continues, it will unfairly curtail the retirement options for many thousands.
The government may also be pleasantly surprised to find that the economic return to the UK of allowing our pensioners to emigrate will in fact benefit us all, pensioners and taxpayers alike. Rather than stick to this archaic situation whereby British pensioners are compelled to stay in the UK into old age or risk destitution abroad, Britain should join the rest of the OECD and recognise that we should be free to move wherever we wish.
A five-time general election candidate for the Liberal Democrats in the North East, Lord Shipleyserved as opposition leader on Newcastle City Council from 1988-1998 and was raised to the peerage in 2010.
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