PENSION FACT SHEET 3
Issued on behalf of British Age Pensioner Alliance, these Fact Sheets support the 20 year story of the fight for PARITY by 540,500 UK State Pensioners.  Why should they be deprived of annual indexation of their pensions because they live in certain countries while another 565,000,living in other countries, are not ?

It's not where you go, but when you go.

One of the problems we face in convincing MPs and others of the illogical nature of the freezing regime is the problem of "comparators".

Just who should be the fully indexed pensioner against whom we frozen pensioners measure ourselves. Sometimes the government cites the different exchange rates, different inflation rates, different cost of living in different countries as justification for different treatment.

Here is a real life case where two pensioners live in the same "frozen" country. (These are real cases).

Both were born in 1926, and both paid National Insurance Contributions (stamps) for their whole working life. Both reached age 65 in 1991 with a full, 100%, basic pension. Both are veterans of WWII. Both moved to Australia to spend their retirement years with children and grandchildren.

"A" retired in 1991 and moved to Australia just before the 1991 up-rating. As a result his basic pension is £46.90. "B" retired the same year with the same payment history, but did not move to Australia until after the 1997 up-rating. As a result, his basic pension is £62.45, which is about 1/3rd more than "A" gets.

Of course, both have their pensions frozen.

Both live in the same country, with the same exchange rate, the same inflation, and the same cost of living.

Whatever else may be argued about the legitimacy of pension freezing it is irrational, to the point of absurdity, that pension freezing should depend not only on where you moved to, but when you moved.

No wonder Jeff Rooker* said it is illogical.

If you are a Party member, a Politician or a Candidate, please do not just stick to any party line on this matter, but make up your own mind. Its time to decide that pension freezing should end.

*Jeff Rooker, now Baron Rooker served as a senior Labour Minister in several capacities, including social security, immigration and local government.

For more information, log on to the web site

http://www.britishpensions.org.au/

or email info@britishpensions.org.au