Expat British pensioners lose cost of living case

About 250,000 British pensioners, living in Australia, are to miss out on cost of living adjustments to their payments.

The Federal government says it is disappointed by this decision made by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights

Families Minister Jenny Macklin said the British Government refuses to index its pensions paid to expatriates who live in Commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand.

However UK pensions are fully indexed for people who live in the European Union, the USA, the Philippines, Israel and other countries.

“The Australian Government believes this policy is discriminatory,” Ms Macklin said.

She said UK pensioners living in Australia had paid their contributions into the UK National Insurance Fund in good faith.

“We have been actively lobbying the UK Government on this issue,”Ms Macklin added.

“I raised this issue face-to-face with the then UK Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions and the Australian Government will continue to pursue this matter.

“The UK’s policy severely disadvantages UK pensioners living in Australia, as over time their UK pensions have declined in real value.

“This policy continues to place an increasing burden on all Australian taxpayers, as the Australian Government picks up the tab for around 170,000 UK pensioners who also receive means-tested Australian pensions,” Ms Macklin said.

She said this cost Australian taxpayers  about $100 million a  year.

“Australia terminated our social security agreement with the United Kingdom in 2001 because of this issue,” Ms Macklin said.

“I congratulate the pensioners involved in the case for their tenacity and dedication in fighting hard for a fair go,” she added.

“The Australian Government will continue to support UK pensioners living in Australia,” she said.