The payments are being suspended in order to ensure that the money reaches the pensioners for whom it is intended and does not become part of the "bailout" deal Cyprus is attempting to hammer out with Europe.
In announcing the plan to suspend the pension payments, UK Treasury minister Greg Clark stressed that UK pensioners in Cyprus would not lose out, and that their money would be "held safely" by the Government until it could be paid to them.
Those keen to get their money straightaway could, Clark said, switch their bank account to an online one. He urged anyone interested in doing this to visit the International Pension Centre, via the Department for Work and Pensions website.
An estimated 25,000 Britons live in Cyprus, of whom a large percentage are retirees.
The situation in Cyprus this morning is described as extremely tense and worrisome for those living there, as officials are said to be considering ways to improve on their extremely unpopular initial plan, unveiled over the weekend, to fund a bailout by raiding Cypriot bank depositors’ savings accounts. The measure is due to be voted on later today.
Banks in Cyprus were closed yesterday for a bank holiday, and are now set to remain shuttered until Thursday.
If the situation is resolved quickly, pension payments will resume immediately, Clark said.
