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British retirees who have immigrated to Thailand are living “hand to mouth” due to having their state pensions frozen.
Speaking to the i paper, expat pensioners residing in the South East Asian country shared their “struggles” of receiving far lower payment rates than their counterparts, stating that they feel “penalised” for leaving the country.
Retired lorry driver George Lewis, now 76, who relocated to Thailand from Bristol aged 65, left the country when the basic state pension rate was £79.60 per week for a single person and £127.25 per week for a married couple.
He told the i paper that “any increase would be really helpful”, adding: “My state pension was frozen when I left the UK, and we are struggling.
“We don’t have heating bills, but the air conditioning is expensive, and fans just don’t cut it in 38-to-40-degree heat.”
Retired travel agent Guy Lindsay-Watson, 76, who moved to Thailand in 2005 said he and his wife are “hardly coping”. Mr Lindsay-Watson was unaware his pension would remain frozen at £164.70 per week.
He told the i: “I really don’t think this is fair. It’s Government help we need, and we need it as soon as possible.”
British pensioners receive their state pension based on the level of their compulsory and voluntary NI contributions and at present, people should contribute around 35 years worth to receive the full rate of payment.
Every year, the state pension receives an annual uprating, known as the “triple lock” which increases the payment rates based on the higher figure out of inflation, wage growth, or 2.5 percent.
However, if a pensioner moves abroad and based on where they move to, their pension does not receive an uprating and will instead remain frozen at the rate it was when they immigrated.
Those residing in countries that are part of the European Union, or others such as the US or Barbados (which have a social security agreement with the UK), can still see their pensions rise as normal. However, pensioners residing in countries without a security agreement, such as Thailand, or most commonwealth countries like Australia, and Canada, have their state pensions frozen.
This leaves as many as 490,000 pensioners living on lower state pension rates than their counterparts, according to the End Frozen Pensions campaign group.
A spokesperson from the group said some expats living in countries on the frozen pension list have been forced to return to the UK.
They told the i: “Those who return are left with the daunting prospect of an expensive and upsetting upheaval to the UK in their old age and put further strain on the NHS and social care system at a time when it is already struggling.”