Hundreds of thousands of Brit pensioners will not get the increase in the State Pension scheduled for next April. Demands have been made to finally change the rules as around 453,000 people will miss out.
Millions of people over the State Pension age are set to see a 4.1 per cent increase in their weekly payments next April, courtesy of the triple lock. The New and Basic State Pensions are adjusted annually.
The triple lock rule means the sum goes up by the highest of three measures: average annual earnings growth from May to July (4.1%), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate for the year to September (1.7%), or 2.5 per cent.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published figures on Wednesday that finalised the triple lock for the 2025/26 uprating. These figures revealed that the CPI for September dropped from 2.2 per cent to 1.7 per cent, while average earnings growth for the 12 months to July was 4.1 per cent – making it the determining factor.
The new State Pension rates won’t be officially confirmed until the Autumn Budget on October 30. However, the Labour Government has pledged to uphold the triple lock for the next five years.
Yet not all State Pensioners will receive the annual uplift. Almost half a million pensioners will miss out on increased payments because they have chosen to retire abroad.
And those affected are calling for this to finally change. One woman leading the fight will get just £72.50 per week, less than half the £169.50 she would receive if she lived in the UK.
Anne Puckridge, a soon-to-be centenarian and World War Two veteran, is now urging the public to back her request for a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss ‘frozen pensions’. Anne has committed to making the 435-mile journey from Canada, where she retired later in life, just before her 100th birthday in December, to challenge Sir Keir Starmer to a meeting about the scandal that sees half of the affected pensioners receive a UK State Pension of just £65 per week or less.
Anne is encouraging people to sign a new online petition initiated by her daughter. As a Second World War veteran, Anne has served in all three branches of the armed services.
Now, in her 100th year, she is leading the fight for justice for nearly half a million British pensioners living abroad who are denied the yearly increases to the UK State Pension. Despite having worked her entire life in the UK and made all her National Insurance Contributions, Anne receives just £72.50 per week, less than half the £169.50 she would receive if she lived in the UK.
Anne, who is nearing her centenary, has made the bold decision to travel from Canada to London. She moved to Canada in 2001 at the age of 76 to be closer to her daughter, and since then, her State Pension has been ‘frozen’, a predicament that affects numerous British pensioners living overseasa fact often overlooked when deciding to move abroad.
John Duguid, chairman of the End Frozen Pensions campaign, couldn’t be more thankful: “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 continued: “That she is prepared to travel halfway across the world, aged nearly 100, to fight for others is testament to her relentless drive and profound sense that it should not be this way. While she should not have to make this journey, it is my sincere hope that the Prime Minister will grant her this one small wish. Out of courtesy for her wartime service, her lifelong dedication to Britain, and the suffering she has unnecessarily endured.”
With over 100,000 British pensioners residing in Canada, the issue has widespread implications. Anne is set to present her formal plea for a personal meeting with the Prime Minister during her trip to London this December.
Supporters can find the petition backing Anne’s cause on Change.org. Under the earnings growth element of the triple lock (4.1%), those who will benefit on the full New State Pension will see payments rise by £9.10 per week from £221.20 to £230.30.
Beneficiaries of the full Basic State Pension are set for an increase in their weekly payments come the 2025/26 financial year, as reported by the Daily Record. An upswing by £6.95 a week will see the pension rise from £169.50 to £176.45, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Over a four-week period, this represents an extra £705.80, with an annual lift of £361.40 elevating the total yearly amount from £8,814 to £9,175.40. Individuals getting payments every four weeks will experience an upsurge of £921.20. This adjustment means their annual receipts will swell by £473.60, climbing from £11,502 to £11,975.60 through the 2025/26 fiscal year.
The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP), representing some 453,000 overseas-based British retirees grappling with ‘frozen pensions’, is championing the ‘End Frozen Pensions’ campaign. They are striving to “end the injustice” confronted by UK pensioners residing abroad in nations like Canada, Australia and New Zealand which lack a pension treaty with Britain.
These expatriate pensioners have to make do with State Pensions frozen at the rate offered when they departed the UK, not taking into account their contributions in the form of work and National Insurance Contributions within Britain. To be eligible for the State Pension, a person requires at least 10 years worth of National Insurance Contributions and usually around 35 years to secure the complete sum, although those who were ‘contracted out’ might need more.
However, an analysis by the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners suggests that all these frozen State Pensions could be updated to match the current State Pension pay rates by the new Labour Government for £50 million. The analysis reveals that State Pension payments to frozen countries only make up 1.3 per cent of the UK Government’s total annual expenditure.