Anne Puckridge, a 93-year-old British expat who moved to Canada 17 years ago to be closer to her family, is set to present the UK prime minister with a petition of over 200,000 signatures in a protest about frozen pensions for expats.
According to UK legislation, pensioners can receive their state pension only if they retire in one of the 50 countries eligible, which include France, Spain and the USA.
However, many Commonwealth countries like Australia, South Africa and Canada – where Puckridge moved to – do not have the same status and people retiring there have their pensions frozen at the date of retirement.
The policy was reviewed in 2010, after an appeal made by a group of pensioners was rejected by the European Court of Human Rights.
When Puckridge left the UK, her pension was £72.50 a week; if she hadn’t left the country it would now be £125.95 a week.
“It’s the injustice of it that gets to me,” Puckridge, who is campaigning for the International Consortium of British Pensioners, told the BBC.
“I have to be so careful with what I spend. I have to be so careful with Christmas and birthdays especially – I can’t indulge my family,” she said.
The Consortium has also invited MPs to discuss the matter with Puckridge, who believes she has lost £22,000 (C$28,386, €24,871) from her pension.
The issue is now being discussed in an all-party parliamentary group. Even though such groups have no formal status in Parliament, they have been widely used to raise awareness.
