State Pension increases will not go to hundreds of thousands of people

Millions of individuals over the State Pension age will witness a 4.1 per cent increase in their weekly payments next April, thanks to the Triple Lock - but some will miss out. The New and Basic State Pensions are adjusted annually under the Triple Lock, in line with 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.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published on Wednesday, finalised the Triple Lock for the 2025/26 uprating. They 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, but the Labour Government has pledged to uphold the Triple Lock for the next five years. However, not all State Pensioners will receive the annual uplift next year.

Nearly half a million pensioners will miss out on increased payments because they have chosen to retire abroad. Under the earnings growth element of the Triple Lock (4.1%), those on the full New State Pension will see payments rise by £9.10 per week from £221.20 to £230.30.

As the payment is typically made every four weeks, this amounts to an increase of £921.20. This will result in annual payments rising by £473.60 from £11,502 to £11,975.60 over the 2025/26 financial year, reports the Daily Record.

In the upcoming financial year of 2025/26, individuals receiving the full Basic State Pension will see their weekly payments increase by £6.95, moving from £169.50 to £176.45, amounting to an additional £705.80 per four-week period. Over the year, this means an annual boost of £361.40, with total payments going from £8,814 to £9,175.40.

The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP), which represents around 453,000 expat pensioners impacted by 'frozen pensions', is pushing the 'End Frozen Pensions' campaign. Their goal is to "end the injustice" faced by British pensioners abroad in countries without a pension agreement with the UK, like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

These expats receive frozen State Pensions at the rate they were when they left the UK, disregarding their history of working and paying National Insurance Contributions in Britain. To claim State Pension, one needs a minimum of 10 years’ worth of National Insurance Contributions and approximately 35 years for the full amount, although this figure can be higher if you have been 'contracted out'.

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 makeup 1.3 per cent of the UK Government's total annual expenditure.

Now, a soon-to-be centenarian and World War Two veteran, Anne Puckridge, is calling on the public to support her request for a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss 'frozen pensions'. Anne has pledged to undertake 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 spearheading 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, now nearly 100 years old, bravely intends to journey halfway across the world from Canada, where she moved in 2001 at the age of 76 to be near her daughter. Upon her move, Anne's State Pension was 'frozen', an issue affecting many British pensioners abroad, yet a detail often omitted when making such life-changing relocations.

John Duguid, chairman of the End Frozen Pensions campaign, expressed immense gratitude: "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 then added: "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 living in Canada alone, the matter reaches far and wide. This week, Anne plans to submit her formal request to have a personal dialogue with the Prime Minister during her visit to London in December.

The petition supporting her cause is available on Change.org.