“It is a disgrace and a shame on the UK Government that they treat the elderly and defenceless in such a callous manner and that they intentionally freeze these pensions”
– John Duffy – Antigua
Chair, British Caribbean Pensioners Association (BCPA)
Attendee, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (2018)
“This blatant discrimination has gone on for far too long. It is now time for the Government to remove this anomaly and give thousands of pensioners worldwide the opportunity to live in dignity, with the pension income for which they have paid”.
– John Markham – Ontario, Canada
“It seems very unfair that having worked all my life and thereby obtained the full UK state pension, I am now penalized because I decided to emigrate”.
– Joan Gibson, Aged 83, South Africa
“The UK government is forcing a husband and wife to live apart from each other”.
– Derek Sawyer – Leicester (his wife is still in St Kitts)
“Britain is the only country that does not treat all its pensioners equally. That is not right. We do not deserve to be treated so badly by the country we fought for”.
– Vic Williams – Mississauga, Canada
“Things would be okay. I could manage financially if it wasn’t for the wretched frozen pension policy. It’s wrong. It’s unfair. It’s discriminatory.”
– David Harding, 82, North Borneo
“How ironic it would be if, in order to stay alive, I had to resettle in Britain”.
– Sam – Sydney, Australia
“If we have to continue living with zero increase in our pension income then we will eventually have no option but to return to England”.
– David and Jeanne Lawrence – South Africa
“Its turned my life upside down. If my pension was brought up to date I would be laughing”.
– Joe Lewis, Victoria, Canada
“What she gets would buy about three loaves of bread today. You could say the
Australian government have kept her for at least the last 20 or 30 years”.
– Mavis Wilson – daughter of Annie Carr Sydney, Australia
“Veterans now in their late 80s and 90s receive less than half of what other pensioners in the same age group receive in the UK and in some other countries like Israel, Germany and the USA. These disadvantaged, veteran pensioners fought for freedom for all in Britain, but hypocritical British politicians, for more than 50 years, have denied them the freedom of choice of where they might retire.”
– Clive Walford – Indonesia
“Over the past 13 years I have written countless letters to ministers and MPs campaigning for the indexation of those pensions so unfairly frozen. I am among many who are deeply impacted financially because of the loss of this pension. It means that we have to carefully control our spending and can no longer afford the little “luxuries” in life, like a coffee out with friends, or a visit to the cinema. I feel ashamed that I am dependent on the assistance I accept from the Canadian government”.
– Anne Puckridge, Calgary, Canada
“I think what aggravates me most, is that I was never informed at the time of emigrating that when I reached pensionable age it would remain frozen for the rest of my life”.
– Ron Rose – Zimbabwe
“I paid Tax and NI for 44 years – how much money must I have paid in to the UK Exchequer and what we have saved the UK by leaving”.
– Mike Goodall – Australia
“My Mother, with her UK pension frozen, feels the impact on a daily basis. Frankly, I think it is cruel. Especially as both my parents fought in the War to ensure the freedom now enjoyed in the UK”.
– Wendy Simpson – South Africa
“The government have twice recognised my work on their behalf with accolades, yet are still unwilling to pay my full pension, one I’ve contributed to my whole life. It’s a major injustice that the government denies people of their rightful pension…I expect the government to respect the right of people to a pension they have paid for”.
– Richard Hyde – Madagascar
“I worked and contributed to my State Pension all my life. It doesn’t seem fair that the government can just stop uprating it because I want to be with my family”.
– Rita Young – she cannot afford to emigrate and be with her family because her pension would be “frozen”
“It’s doubly unfair because we are not getting health treatment paid for by Britain”.
– John Trantom – Oakville, Canada
“Now in my advanced frail and weak old age nobody in the UK government or the Ministry of Justice is listening. This cruel, callous abuse is causing such a high level of lost dignity and misery”.
– David Harding – Borneo
“It makes me upset and angry, I was even told that getting our state pension was not a right but merely a benefit from the UK Government that could be amended at any time – but I’ve paid for it all of my working life!”
– George Gray, South Africa
“I was brought up to believe Britain was a fair country. It’s terrible to meet pensioners over here who say they have to come back to Britain because they can’t manage”.
– Bernard Jackson – Canada
These are just some of the frozen pensioners who are suffering – for many years in some case. Please help us fight this battle. Every penny/cent that is received by the ICBP is spent trying to convince the UK that it is time to end this unfair, immoral and discriminatory practice that has been in place for over 70 years. After all, this is 2016….