ICBP - Please Support EDM 1895 - Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulation

Dear "Name of MP",                                                                           12th June 2011

As you know the International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP), has been engaged with our partners in Australia, Canada and South Africa in a prolonged action to correct a long standing wrong that has had dire consequences for the most worthy of British Veterans, and many other British subjects, at home, and around the world. We ask you to please help end this harm by putting your signature to EDM 1895, namely:

That this house notes that under regulation 3 in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulation 2011 more than half a million British people who have retired to any one of more than 120 countries including the majority of Commonwealth countries have their rightful British State pension frozen and are denied their rights to annual up-rating to such pension, meaning that they continue to lose money that they are entitled to having paid National Insurance contributions during their working lives; further notes that perpetuation of this regulation will impact on the freedom of choice of country of residence for many constituents upon their retirement in coming years and calls upon this House to review regulation 3 of the Up-rating Regulation and thus treat all British pensioners with the dignity and fairness that they deserve in future years.

Please view EDM 1895 – Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulation, at the Parliamentary link: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-11/1895

John Markham
ICBP - Director of UK Parliamentary Affairs

Open Letter to the House of Lords - Debate 9th March 2011
Dear  "Name of Peer",                                                                                                                              14th May 2011
We recently received this letter (please click-on this link), from one of our members regarding an 9th March discussion in the House of Lords on frozen pensions in response to a question from Lord Shipley. It expands on the average data given by Lord Freud, and shows how the Government’s current pensions freezing policy increasingly impacts each frozen pensioners’ financial situation as they age. In effect the policy discriminates on the basis of age - they get a less valuable pension as they get older.
Both Houses and the European Court of Human Rights have said in the past that this is an acceptable state of affairs! The policy may have seemed justifiable 65 years ago when uprating of the State Pension was first enacted but most people are incredulous that such a policy continues today, especially when the Government consistently expresses concern about fairness, dignity and the well being of the elderly. The truth is that changing the policy and removing the freeze would encourage more pensioners to move abroad in retirement and actually provide a net benefit to the Treasury.
Please click-on this link - http://www.pension-parity-uk.com/sundaytelegraph.jpg - to read a very significant article on this topic that was published in the Sunday Telegraph on March 13th 2011.
Thank you for your consideration of this important matter and please do not hesitate to contact us for much more information on this unacceptable situation.
Sincerely
Tony Bockman
President
The International Consortium of British Pensioners
BROKEN FAITH -- Book of Heroes


Dear  "Name of MP or Peer",                                                                                16 January 2011
 
On the 16th Dec 2010 the International Consortium of British Pensioners handed over a book, "Broken Faith," to Steve Webb, Minister for Pensions, at No 10 Downing St, for the consideration of the Government. The book contains brief service records of 104 veterans who served the country loyally, details of their decorations and brief personal comments.  These veterans are so disgusted at the wholly immoral practice of freezing their Basic State Pension that they are considering returning their medals to the Crown. The depth of this feeling reflects the ever increasing resentment of the 543,000 overseas recipients of the British State Pension, who have their pension frozen for no better reason than where they reside, whilst a further half million overseas recipients of BSP who reside within the EU or 16 other countries where a "reciprocal agreement " is in place, receive their full annual pension entitlement uprated annually. You may like to read a copy of the book, which you can find on our website. Just click on

http://www.pension-parity-uk.com/brokenfaith.htm

Your active support in persuading the Government to right this terrible wrong will be much appreciated.

John Markham
ICBP -  Director of UK Parliamentary Affairs




MATRIX REPORT


Dear  "Name of MP",                                                                                31 October 2010
 
You will recall that at the time of the General Election we sent you a petition on behalf of the International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP).  We requested your support in the fight to achieve Pension Parity and thus put an end to the immoral and unjust policy of freezing the pensions of some 50% of all  British Pensioners who live Overseas (dependent ONLY on where they reside).

Since that time a publicly recognized Economic Think Tank has studied the economics of changing this policy; furthermore there have been a number of pensioner surveys. These show that the provision of Pension Parity would potentially provide much needed, and significant benefits to the UK economy.

We have much pleasure in providing a one page fact sheet for your information.


To obtain your copy, please click on this link: 

http://www.pension-parity-uk.com/Matrix%20Report.htm

Your support, as always is much appreciated.
 
Tony Bockman
Chairman ICBP


                                                                                                                                           30th October 2010

The International Consortium of British Pensioners commissioned a recent study by the economics think tank, Matrix Evidence, using data provided by HMG resources, which shows that over the next 15 years with current emigration levels remaining the same, recipients of British State Pensions who move abroad to countries where their UK state pension is frozen will save the UK economy a total of £33 billion.

This is because UK residents over the age of 65 currently costs the UK taxpayer £8,189 per annum arising from average benefit payments of £2,938, share of NHS costs of £4,276 and social care costs of £975. Once lost tax receipts have been accounted for, this means that British pensioners who emigrate outside the EU in retirement save the UK economy a net total of £4,417 per capita per annum.

According to DWP some 543,000 pensioners out of a total of just over 1.1 million expat recipients of British State pensions currently reside in countries where their pensions are frozen. There are 185,000 pensioners living in reciprocal agreement countries, with the remainder living in the EU where they receive not only full pension upratings but also other transferable benefits. British pensioners residing outside the EU therefore currently provide a saving to the Treasury of £3.2 billion per annum, £2.5 billion of which is from pensioners living in countries where their British state pension is frozen.
 
A series of recent surveys have shown high numbers of pensioners who are keen to retire overseas. The Daily Express published on the 25th August 2010 a survey conducted by Aon Consulting, which indicated that 60% of all Britons "are desperate to escape the UK by retiring overseas". The Week magazine in February 2010 reported a similar survey from the Times indicating 42% considering emigration. More importantly, a survey carried out amongst pensioners resident in the UK in July 2010 by ICBP, AGEUK and the NPC showed that 44% of all respondents would consider a move abroad in retirement and 22% of those interviewed would consider emigrating to a "frozen" country. The survey also found that the frozen pension deters 39% of potential emigrants from considering moving abroad. This equates to nearly one million pensioners who would move abroad if pensions were uprated across the board.


From these surveys it is fair to estimate that significant numbers of pensioners, potentially between half a million and one million, would emigrate over the next 10-15 years were pensions unfrozen. This would lead to an additional annual saving of between £2.2 billion per annum and £4.4 billion per annum, which could then be used to ease the cost of domestic pensions. This is not to mention the relief on housing pressures that greater emigration could provide.
Can HMG really afford to penalize would be pensioner emigrants?