Anne Puckeridge, a Second World War veteran, is living on a scant state pension of just £72.50 per week and she’s not happy about it. The war hero was hoping for some relief in the Budget to address the issue that her pension, like many others, does not increase annually.
However, following Rachel Reeves’ speech in the House of Commons, which failed to mention the issue, Anne’s struggles persist. Retirees who move to certain countries, including some within the Commonwealth, face the possibility of their state pension payments being frozen for life.
This harsh reality has struck a chord with Anne Puckeridge, who resides in Canada, and she now plans to return to the UK in hopes of securing a meeting with Rachel Reeves and the rest of the Labour government to discuss this “discriminatory” policy. Following the Chancellor’s Budget, which neglected to address the issue of frozen pensions despite years of desperate pleas from pensioners and campaigners, John Duguid, Chair of the End Frozen Pensions campaign, warned: “This Budget does nothing to help the nearly half a million overseas UK state pensioners consistently denied all of the annual increases in the state pension despite paying all their National Insurance dues.”
He continued: “One such pensioner is soon to be 100 year old WW2 veteran Anne Puckridge who is making the 4,400-mile journey from her home in Canada in December to lobby MPs and challenge the Prime Minister to a meeting.”
Campaigners, feeling overlooked following the recent budget measures, are keenly awaiting Labour’s attention during Anne’s visit. The Chancellor’s recent emphasis on providing additional funds for veterans, memorials, and Second World War education makes their anticipation even more poignant, given Anne’s circumstances.
Despite serving in all three armed forces branches and contributing to National Insurance throughout her working years in the UK, she now receives less than half the state pension she would be due if she had stayed in Britain. Having moved to Canada at age 76 to be closer to her daughter, Anne has not benefited from any of the subsequent state pension increases.
She has condemned the ‘frozen pension’ policy as “discriminatory” and asserts that she was never warned about the halt in state pension growth upon emigration. Her daughter has launched a petition to draw attention to Anne’s case.
John, voicing support for the campaign, says: “Every single one of us forgotten British overseas pensioners impacted by this cruel, outdated policy are immensely indebted to Anne for shedding light on this poorly understood scandal.”
He adds: “That she is prepared to travel halfway across the world, aged nearly 100, to fight for others is a testament to her relentless drive and profound sense that it should not be this way.”
Earlier in the year, the government responded to queries about ‘frozen’ pensions with the stance: “Our priority is ensuring every pensioner receives the financial support to which they are entitled.
“We understand that people move abroad for many reasons and we provide clear information on gov.u about how this can impact their finances. The government’s policy on the uprating of the UK state pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one of more than 70 years and we continue to uprate state pensions overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so.”