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Pensions: Reciprocal Uprating Agreements

What are the total amounts of United Kingdom pensions and the number of recipients currently being paid to residents of countries with which the United Kingdom (a) does, and (b) does not have reciprocal agreements to uprate pension payments; and

Asked by

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay (Liberal Democrat)

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Answered on

19 July 2005

The UK currently has reciprocal agreements which provide for the uprating of state pension with the following countries: Barbados; Bermuda; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Croatia; Isle of Man; Israel; Jamaica; Jersey and Guernsey; Mauritius; Philippines; State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; Turkey; USA and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Although they have generally been superseded by EC Social Security Regulations which provide for uprating of state pensions for European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals moving between the UK and other member countries, the UK also has reciprocal agreements which provide for uprating of state pensions with the following countries: Austria; Belgium; Cyprus; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Luxembourg; Malta; the Netherlands; Norway; Portugal; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden and Switzerland.Over the past 20 years the UK has entered into reciprocal agreements providing for the uprating of state pensions with the following countries: Barbados (1992); Iceland (1985); Norway (1991); Philippines (1989) and Sweden (1988). The agreements with Iceland, Norway and Sweden have since been superseded by the EC Social Security Regulations. No agreements providing for the uprating of state pensions have been terminated.At 31 September 2004 around 990,000 state pension recipients were living overseas of whom around 470,000 were residing in the EEA or in a country with which UK has a reciprocal agreement covering the uprating of pensions and around 520,000 were residing elsewhere including around 240,000 in Australia and 38,000 in South Africa.In 2004–05 the UK spent an estimated £1.9 billion on state pensions paid overseas, of this around £1.1 billion went to people residing in the EEA or in a country with which UK has a reciprocal agreement covering the uprating of pensions and around £800 million went to people residing elsewhere including £358 million to people in Australia and £66 million to people in South Africa. It is estimated that the cost of ““unfreezing”” pensions paid to people residing outside the EEA and countries with which the UK has a reciprocal agreement is (without backdating) around £400 million per annum increasing over time.At 31 September 2004 around 2,000 state pension recipients were residing in the British Overseas Territories which comprise: Anguilla; British Antarctic Territory; Bermuda; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; St Helena and dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha); Turk and Caicos Islands; Pitcairn Island; South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands; and the sovereign base areas on Cyprus. State pensions paid to recipients living in Bermuda; Gibraltar and the sovereign base areas on Cyprus are subject to uprating.In 2004–05 the UK spent an estimated £5.5 million on state pensions paid to people residing in the British Overseas Territories.

Date

19 July 2005

Reference

1150; 673 c232-3WA

House

House of Lords

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