HC Deb 24 January 2000 vol 343 c84W
Ms Oona King

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what action he proposes to take to ensure that UK citizens whose entitlement to a British state pension is partially based on contributions made abroad are not prevented from receiving their full pension if they retire in an EU member state; [105488]

(2) what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer in each of the next five financial years of allowing those British citizens who have made contributions to their pensions while working abroad, to receive their full pension entitlement if they are (a) not ordinarily resident in the UK and (b) not ordinarily resident in the UK, but live within the EU;. [105490]

(3) how many UK citizens receive a pension which is partly dependent on contributions made while resident in (a) Canada and (b) all other countries outside the UK. [105489]

Mr. Rooker

Where a person has paid contributions to the Social Security scheme of a country outside the UK, any pension entitlement from those contributions is decided and paid by the country concerned. No UK pension is paid on such contributions.

A UK pension based entirely on National Insurance contributions is not affected if a person goes to live elsewhere in the EU. However, UK State Pension can be based wholly or partly on residence in Australia, Canada or New Zealand under the UK's Social Security agreements with those three countries. They have residence-based pensions which are not always payable if a person comes to live in the UK. If they go to live elsewhere the amount of pension derived from the agreement is no longer paid.

There are no plans to change the provisions of these arrangements.

Reliable estimates are not available of the cost of paying any UK pension derived from residence in Australia, Canada or New Zealand to pensioners who cease to be ordinarily resident in the UK.

Some 9,000 pensioners in the UK receive State Pensions based wholly or partly on residence in Canada.

Some 24,000 pensioners in the UK receive State Pensions based wholly or partly on residence in Australia or New Zealand.