As she approaches her 100th birthday, Anne Puckridge, a former wartime intelligence officer, embarks on a new mission: to persuade the UK government to end what she calls a grave injustice against British pensioners living abroad. Puckridge is one of nearly half a million pensioners whose state pensions have been “frozen” due to their residence outside the UK, leaving many struggling to make ends meet.
The Plight of Frozen Pensions
While the UK state pension is payable overseas, it is not increased annually unless there is a legal requirement, such as a reciprocal social security agreement between the UK and the pensioner’s country of residence. This policy affects approximately 480,000 British pensioners living in over 100 countries, including popular retirement destinations like Australia, Canada, and South Africa.
For these “frozen” pensioners, their state pensions remain fixed at the level they were at when they first became entitled to the payment or moved abroad. This means they miss out on the annual increases that pensioners living in the UK or certain other countries receive.
Anne Puckridge’s Story
Anne Puckridge’s case illustrates the devastating impact of this policy. Despite having lived and worked in the UK for most of her life, making full national insurance contributions, her basic state pension has been frozen at £72.50 per week since she moved to Canada in 2001 to be closer to her daughter.
“I can’t remember when I bought anything new, and I have to limit even essential purchases to thrift and similar stores,” Puckridge shares. “Social activity and entertainment are mainly only memories, and festive seasons such as the approaching Christmas or birthdays are embarrassing rather than exciting events.”
Over the past 23 years, Puckridge estimates that she has lost out on over £50,000 in pension payments compared to what she would have received had she remained in the UK. The pension freeze, she says, has affected virtually every decision in her life.
Fighting for Change
Determined to fight for change, Puckridge is traveling 4,400 miles from her home in Canada to London to meet with the UK pensions minister and bring attention to this issue. Her call for a meeting was backed by over 30 UK parliamentarians and garnered more than 130,000 signatures on a petition.
While Prime Minister Starmer declined to meet with Puckridge personally, he has offered her a meeting with Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds. Puckridge expressed disappointment but appreciates the alternative, stating, “I will be 100 years old in a few weeks’ time, and the decision to take the journey back to the UK at this stage of my life is not one I have taken lightly.”
The Cost of Change
The frozen pensions policy has been in place for decades, with successive governments arguing that uprating pensions for those living abroad would be too costly, estimating a price tag of over £4.5 billion in total for the five years ending April 2028.
However, campaigners point to a recent Freedom of Information response from the Department for Work and Pensions, which showed that the cost of providing annual increases for all affected pensioners from now on would be £55 million in the first year – a far cry from the government’s long-term projections.
A Cruel and Unnecessary Policy
The End Frozen Pensions campaign describes the current policy as “cruel and unnecessary,” arguing that these pensioners have earned their retirement income through years of national insurance contributions and should not be penalized for their choice of retirement location.
“We feel our country has cruelly abandoned us,” Puckridge laments. “I will continue fighting for the justice we deserve.”
As Anne Puckridge prepares to mark her centenary year, her mission to end the frozen pensions policy serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle faced by hundreds of thousands of British pensioners abroad. With growing support from parliamentarians and the public, the pressure is mounting on the UK government to address this longstanding injustice and ensure that all pensioners, regardless of where they choose to retire, receive the full state pension they have earned through a lifetime of contributions.
