State pensioners set to lose £475 on TOP of Winter Fuel Payment

Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) state pension payments are forecast to rise by hundreds next April.

State pensioners are set to miss out on a £475 Triple Lock boost ON TOP of the £300 Winter Fuel Payment cut in a "scandal". Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) state pension payments are forecast to rise by hundreds next April.

Close to 500,000 pensioners have been impacted by the "frozen" pensions policy which means thousands of British expats will not be entitled to the full state pension. The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP) is campaigning to end this "frozen pensions" policy.

This is believed to affect approximately 453,000 pensioners in various countries, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.John Duguid, the chair of the End Frozen Pensions campaign, highlighted the plight of Anne, a nearly 100-year-old pensioner and veteran who has been impacted by payments being "frozen".

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Duguid said: "Every single one of us forgotten British overseas pensioners impacted by this cruel, outdated policy are immensely indebted to Anne for shedding light on this poorly understood scandal."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 said: "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."

The campaign chair expressed hope that the Prime Minister would grant Anne's wish, stating: "Out of courtesy for her wartime service, her lifelong dedication to Britain, and the suffering she has unnecessarily endured." Their pensions are essentially “frozen” at the level they were on the day they leave the UK and are not covered by the triple lock, which ensures retirees in the UK have state pensions which rise every April by the highest of wages, the rate of inflation, or 2.5 per cent.

Britain has deals with some countries, including those in the EU, to ensure UK citizens living there on the state pension have their payouts uprated each year. But no such deals exist a number of Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.