It really makes my blood boil that the British Government chooses to treat British expats differently when it comes to the index linking of the state pension. British expat pensioners living in an EU member state receive full index linking while those of us living in countries like Canada or Australia do not.
Back in November 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) when asked to rule on the matter came down firmly in favour of this blatant discrimination. Not bad for an organisation that was set up to defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of all individuals from the excesses of government and similar organisations.
Perhaps it is time to remind the UK government that British expats are still citizens of the UK and should have the same rights as afforded to everyone else. It seems to me that they have conveniently forgotten that people like myself contributed to the system all our working lives in the UK.
Sadly however I suspect, that like the proposed changes to the laws relating to free NHS treatment for British expats, that the writing is not only on the wall but firmly in the statute book. So, save for a total U turn by Labour, British expatriates living outside the EU will not see index linking of their pensions within their lifetime.
Trying to find something positive to say on this subject is difficult and the only glimmer of hope I can offer lies in the fact that as things stand at the moment British expats wherever they live will still get a state pension. But if you are a young expatriate, say under 40, then I can’t see you ever benefiting from the system you may well have contributed to.
While I personally think little can be done to change UK government policy for British expats you might want to check out Pension Parity and support their efforts in trying to bring about change.
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