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Around 453,000 older people will not get new State Pension payments during the 2026\/27 financial year.(Image: Getty )<\/p>\nNearly half a million pensioners will not receive the annual uprating in April.Around 453,000 older people will not get new State Pension payments during the 2026\/27 financial year.(Image: Getty )<\/p>\n
During a recent trade debate in the Canadian parliament a number of Canadian MPs have condemned their government\u2019s failure to make the UK join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP) conditional on the UK ending its so-called \u2018frozen pensions\u2019<\/a> policy.<\/p>\n Numerous MPs called out the policy on October 28 as unfair and discriminatory and one MP stated that the policy was believed to be costing the Canadian economy some $1 billion. The so-called \u2018frozen pensions\u2019 policy denies British pensioners living in only some countries overseas – like Canada and Australia – the annual uprating that sees the UK State Pension <\/a>increase broadly in line with inflation.<\/p>\n The policy affects mostly UK pensioners <\/a>living in Commonwealth countries (and overseas territories such as Falkland Islands), whose pension not only remains \u2018frozen\u2019 at the level it was when they left the UK or first started withdrawing their pension, but effectively decreases in value as the cost of living rises.<\/p>\n READ MORE: State Pension uprating will not be paid to thousands of older people next year<\/a>READ MORE: New and Basic State Pension payment rates from April – check yours now<\/a><\/p>\n Many \u2018frozen\u2019 pensioners are forced into poverty, receiving an average of just \u00a360 per week or less, in stark contrast to the current UK Basic State Pension of \u00a3176.45.<\/p>\n Campaigners say the vast majority were not told of the policy before they moved, often to be nearer to family in later life.<\/p>\n Canadian MPs from across party lines called out the UK Frozen Pension policy\u2019s \u201cinequity and unfairness\u201d, and called for ending it to form a \u201ccritical component of all trade negotiations when it comes to the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n Commenting on the UK\u2019s policy\u2019s cost to the Canadian Government, New Democratic Party MP Gord Johns said: \u201cSeniors here are losing tens of thousands of dollars over the course of their retirement. That costs the Canadian economy over $1 billion annually and leaves many seniors in poverty. These include veterans, nurses, people who have lived in Great Britain and served their country.\u201d<\/p>\n James Maloney, of the governing Liberal Party, confirmed that Canadian parliamentarians are actively raising their frustration over the UK\u2019s policy, saying he has \u201craised the issue with British politicians at every opportunity, and so have his colleagues, side by side with me. We have written letters to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam Chambers (Conservative Party of Canada) highlighted MPs\u2019 long-term frustrations over the UK\u2019s continued policy stance, arguing the Canadian Government should be doing more. He said: \u201cThe current government has let pass to negotiate on behalf of UK pensioners. If and when the bill is passed, we will have lost negotiating leverage with the UK to support UK pensioners living in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n Gord Johns later cited the case of 100-year-old impacted UK pensioner and Second World World War veteran Anne Puckridge,<\/a> who moved to Canada in 2001 to be with her daughter.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cAnne was a veteran who served the UK and the UK has abandoned her. It has abandoned a veteran who put her life on the line to serve her country and who put herself forward. I point out that British pensioners in countries like the United States and Jamaica and across the European Union receive a pension that is fully indexed annually, unlike Canadian pensioners. I know that we have all been advocating from different parties, but it has not worked. This is our opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent years, both Canada and Australia have stepped up their engagement over the UK\u2019s Frozen Pensions policy. Canada has sought negotiations on the issue for over 40 years, most recently through an April 2023 formal request; last October, over 100 Canadian Parliamentarians signed an open letter urging the UK to enter talks.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, also wrote directly to the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2023 to press for resolution amid a series of formal approaches to the UK by the Australian Government on this issue.<\/p>\n Both governments have made clear that resolving the frozen pensions issue is formal government policy.<\/p>\n Edwina Melville-Gray, Chair of End Frozen Pensions<\/a> Canada, said: \u201cThis debate in the Canadian Parliament is clear evidence that the UK\u2019s frozen pensions policy is damaging not only pensioners but the UK\u2019s reputation and ability to build strong diplomatic and trading relationships with key allies.<\/p>\n \u201cCanadian MPs are growing increasingly angry at the unfairness and the cost to Canadian taxpayers. When multiple Members of the Canadian Parliament raise the same issue during a trade debate, it sends an unmistakable message: this policy is politically unsustainable, morally indefensible and the Canadian government should use every opportunity for leverage to see it ended.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign has urged the UK Government to enter immediate negotiations with Canada and Australia to update outdated Social Security Arrangements, or to legislate unilaterally to uprate all overseas state pensions.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u2018frozen pensions\u2019 policy affects around 432,000 British pensioners living abroad, most in the Commonwealth. Pensioners in countries such as the US or EU receive annual increases, but those in Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, and most Caribbean nations do not.<\/p>\n The cost of ending the policy is estimated at around \u00a360 million per year, or just 0.05 per cent of total State Pension expenditure.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Independent MP Neil Duncan-Jordan asked the UK Government whether there have been any \u201crecent discussions\u201d with the Australian government on uprating the UK State Pension for British overseas pensioners living in Australia.<\/p>\n In a written response<\/a>, Pensions Minister Torsten Bell said: \u201cThe policy on uprating UK State Pensions paid overseas is longstanding and has been in place for over 70 years.<\/p>\n \u201cUK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.\u201d<\/p>\n The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions paid overseas is longstanding and has been in place for over 70 years. UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.<\/p>\n Chancellor Rachel Reeves will confirm the annual uprating at the Autumn Budget on November 26. An uprating of 4.8 per cent on the current State Pension would see people receive the following amounts.<\/p>\n Full New State PensionWeekly: \u00a3241.30 (from \u00a3230.25)Four-weekly pay period: \u00a3965.20Annual amount: \u00a312,547Full Basic State PensionWeekly: \u00a3184.90 (from \u00a3176.45)Four-weekly pay period: \u00a3739.60Annual amount: \u00a39,614 Join the conversation on our Money Saving Scotland Facebook group<\/a> for money-saving tips, the latest State Pension and benefits news, energy bill advice and cost of living updates.<\/p>\n Sign up to our Record Money newsletter and get the top stories sent to your inbox daily from Monday to Friday with a special cost of living edition every Thursday – sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can also follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @Recordmoney_<\/a> for regular updates throughout the day or get money news alerts on your phone by joining our Daily Record Money WhatsApp community<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761734295_904_0_DR-MOney.png\")
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