§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated number of British citizens120W who have emigrated overseas and are in receipt of a State Retirement Pension which has been frozen because they are living in countries without a reciprocal pension upgrading agreement with the UK; and if he will make a statement. [121981]
§ Mr. RookerSome 470,000 people overseas are in receipt of a UK State Retirement Pension which has been frozen. The Department's records are unable to differentiate between a British citizen and a pensioner from another country who, through having worked and paid National Insurance in this country, is entitled to a UK State Retirement Pension. Therefore the Department can provide only the total figure.
The total annual cost of uprating all frozen UK pensions paid overseas to the rate paid to pensioners resident in the UK would be some £300 million a year.
Our priority is to concentrate any resources that may become available on pensioners resident in the UK. We have done much already for them but, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget, we plan to do more. That is why we have no plans to unfreeze.