#Brit #Expat Petition Against the UK Pensions Bill

Come On #Brit #Expats Sign Petition Against the UK Government's Discrimination 

Stop the passing of the Pensions Bill (HC Bill 91) and Clause 20

The current British coalition government and its policy makers are not "expat friendly" to its own citizens abroad as signalled in the Pensions Bill (HC Bill 91). If you are planning to leave UK to take your pension in another EU state or are already living there, you could be in for a rude shock being discriminated against by your own government.  Here is why:

1.  The Pensions Bill (HC Bill 91) presently going through the House of Commons includes Clause 20 which discriminates against Brits living in the EU (outside the UK). The Bill if passed will cut inflation-linked pension payments and winter fuel payments for those who live or may want to live on the Continent of Europe, and
 
2. As you must rightly know, if the Conservatives win the next election and call for a referendum and Britain is pulled out of the EU, you can bet your life your expat living standards will deteriorate further, and not just over pension payment cuts or Winter Fuel Allowance. Brit expats living Europe will be excluded from inflation linked rises.

3. On both these counts please get into action and say "NO" - TWICE.
- 1. Please join in and add your name to the petition below, and
- 2. Lobby MP's as your future pension income is severely threatened.

I am not scaremongering, the Bill is v-e-r-y clear in its intentions and definitions!

To indicate how concerned expat groups are, they have taken the unprecedented step to urge H M Queen as head of the Commonwealth  to suspend the UK from the Commonwealth until the UK changes direction and stop discriminating against its own loyal citizens, Her loyal subjects abroad. This proposal was published by the Daily Telegraph on September 12th!

The article is headed: 'Please Your Majesty, back us over frozen pensions' – ‘Daily Telegraph’
British pensioners across the world have called on the Queen to kick the UK out of the Commonwealth until its 'discriminatory' policy over frozen pensions is abolished.

Full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/campaigns/frozenpensions/10304967/Please-Your-Majesty-back-us-over-frozen-pensions.html?fb

As to the Pensions Bill (HC Bill 91) before Parliament now, it is entering the Report Stage.

I urge you if you have time on your hands -  to read it, especially Clause 20.  You can read the full Bill here. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2013-2014/0091/cbill_2013-20140091_en_2.htm#pt1-pb1-l1g1

Simply put "Clause 20" is a danger to our expat financial health.

CLAUSE  20  reads :--- Overseas residents
(1) Regulations may provide that an overseas resident who is entitled to a state pension under this Part is not entitled to up-rating increases.
(2) In this section “overseas resident” means a person who is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain or any other territory specified in the regulations.
(3) Regulations under this section do not affect the rate of an overseas resident’s state pension for any period during which he or she is in Great Britain or a territory specified in the regulations (but once the overseas resident ceases to be in Great Britain or a specified territory the rate reverts to what it would have been had he or she not been in Great Britain or a specified territory).
(4) Regulations under this section do not affect the rate of a person’s state pension once the person stops being an overseas resident.

So it would come about that as we are not ordinarily resident in Great Britain our State pensions would not increase year by year with inflation. BUT countries linked in reciprocal arrangements like the Philippines will get inflation-linked adjustments in pensions. Imagine all those Philippine and similar contract workers now in UK will be laughing if they pay in just 7 years of contributions only and retire back to their home country! That is the proposal - not a working lifetime of payments as British citizens have to do.

If we want to talk democracy, then lobbying is our only chance for our voices to be heard as only a handful of expats will be able to have a voice at election time and vote. So we must make our views known today.

1.  PETITION - ACT NOW

To make today's government react,  a petition must have 10,000 signatures.
We are at 8,700+ . We are riding on the back of the Winter Fuel Allowance Fiasco and this is the campaign we are supporting to pursue our expat interests to stop government discrimination against us.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/52121
 
Ten Thousand forces a Government Response and delivers a jolt!
Do your stuff and join the petition if you want to protect full future pension payments.

I have signed the petition and recommend you do too!

2. GET TO YOUR MP AND LET THEM KNOW!!!

Let your MP know where you used to live and that as a full British citizen your have the continuing right for your voice to be heard.

How to find your MP (ex-MP) ---  http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/
 
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Brit expat in France, author Brian Cave who is contactable at lefourquet@orange.fr for much of this invaluable information.

Gerald
#Brit #expat 
PS: The Pensions Bill is the outcome of the Earlier post in Jan 2013 - http://britsincrete.blogspot.gr/2013/01/uk-pension-reform-white-paper-brit.html