Dear Listener

MONEYBOX SATURDAY 19 May 2012

SKIP TO *** TO MISS OUT THE CHATTER

NB no pound signs, brackets, apostrophes or percent signs due to technical problems.

Dear Listener

Two years ago, just as new MPs were settling in to their offices, a letter arrived from the International Consortium of British Pensioners asking for their support. They represent more than half a million UK pensioners living in 119 countries around the world whose UK pension is frozen – it never rises with inflation as it does in the UK. The ICBP feels this is unfair and discriminates against these UK ex-pats who have worked and paid taxes here but have chosen to retire abroad – often for family reasons.

The discrimination is made worse because the UK state pension is not frozen in around 50 countries – including of course the EU – where people who retire get their UK pension with the full annual increase each year. So depending whether you choose America – Uprated – or Canada – Frozen, Barbados –U– or Trinidad –F, France –U– or Andorra –F, or, remarkably, American Virgin Islands –U– or British Virgin Islands –F, your pension may be the full 107 pounds 45p or, for some, the 21 pounds 50p first paid in 1985. The record seems to be held by the 100 year old Annie Carr whose pension is just six pounds and twelve pence a week, first paid in 1970 when she emigrated to Australia to be with her daughter. Uprated pensioners slightly outnumber frozens at around 640,000, mainly in the USA and EU.

Most of the 550,000 people in the frozen countries are in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. But 55,000 of them are scattered across more than 100 other separate states around the world.

In March 2010 the Consortium lost its last ditch attempt to use the law to force the UK Government to change its policy when the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights threw out its claim that discrimination between the two groups violated their human rights, by 11 votes to 6.

Undaunted it wrote to all new MPs and now it hopes to secure a parliamentary debate on the issue when Government plans to reform the state pension are debated later this year. Although a full and immediate unfreezing would cost an estimated 655 million in 2012/13 the campaign now says it would be content with a phased change – perhaps starting with those 85 and above who are hit hardest at a cost of 100 million adding other age groups later.

I am sure I will return to the frozen pension campaign when it comes before Parliament (I first wrote about it in 1988!) Meanwhile if you want to hear my interview with the ICBP Parliamentary Officer John Markham in March 2010 – when he still hoped to win the ECHR case – click here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox/8562766.stm. It is item 4 on the programme. And find out more about the whole issue on the campaign’s website http://pensionjustice.org.

***IN MONEY BOX THIS WEEK***

There is just one item in the programme this week – the euro crisis. I know lots of programmes have been doing this huge story. But Money Box will be concentrating on how it affects your money.

From holiday currency to mortgages. From savings in Santander to buying an annuity. From selling a property abroad to what are Greek people doing with the cash they are taking out we will have a relay of experts on hand to discuss the issues – and we hope give some reassurance.

And of course there will be a little speculation about where it will all end.

You can ask us your question – or express your concerns – through our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox and we will use some of them on the programme.

That will certainly fill our all-live 24 minutes of prime time Radio 4. Listen live at midday on Saturday, tune in to the repeat on Sunday 9pm, or catch up anytime online at www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/moneybox. Remember you can put in a regular order for our podcast. More than 200,000 listen that way each week. It is free.

There is more information on our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox where you can also download transcripts of past programmes and send us ideas or problems you want us to look into.

This newsletter is available at bbc.co.uk/moneybox/newsletter around the time it hits your inbox - tell your friends who do not subscribe. And you could join more than 32,000 people – as many as the circulation of Prospect magazine – who now follow me on Twitter to enjoy - or rant about - my random but timely thoughts on money and a few other things whenever I am awake at twitter.com/paullewismoney. My blog is at www.paullewismoney.blogspot.com

I am back on Wednesday with Money Box Live at 3pm taking questions on student finance.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS. No Breakfast item on BBC One on Saturday – the whole programme is devoted to the Olympic torch relay. But I hope to be back on Breakfast on Thursday morning with another money story, probably 0640 and 0820. But times can and do change at short notice.

e-mail Paul Lewis