Pension uplift

See the attached from the UK Gov website, you will get increases living in Spain.

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad/rates-of-state-pension

Aitch.

Thank you so much Aitch.  Regards 

What is an uplift agreement?

Cheers, J

Annual UK pension increases is what I assumed, as described in the UK Gov link.

Aitch.

Thank you, Aitch. Never heard that phrase before.

Cheers, J

It’s an agreement between the uk and some countries that they will continue to pay its ex pats any increases in the state pension.  Countries such as Canada don’t have this uplift agreement’ with the uk so pensioners have their benefits frozen when they go to live in Canada…not sure what other countries do this?   I saw that Canadian officials were in the uk recently trying to get this changed. Regards 

The thing I can't get my head around, is why an 'Agreement' is required between the UK and other countries to raise pensions. Surely, what they pay expats, who have paid into the system exactly the same as everyone else, should be between them and the pensioners. How on earth does this have any bearing on the host country, other than more money coming in? It's not like the host country are footing the bill.

Hi GerryJ,

Without seeing the article, I think the "Agreement" referred to is probably the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, in which Section 2 protects Citizens' Rights, both in the EU and the UK.  People who are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, i.e. those UK citizens who became legally resident in Spain (and elsewhere in the EU) before Brexit, will have generally the same rights to work, study and access public services and benefits as they did before the UK left the EU.  But you're correct to say that the UK pays the pension to its' State retirees living here and only the UK decides whether uprating will continue to be applied to our pensions.  Spain's interest in this is that UK State pensions are taxed in Spain, rather than the UK.

Kind regards,

Kim