Anne Puckridge, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, is making a 4,400-mile journey to meet with the Prime Minister. She wants to discuss the issue of frozen pensions for Brits living overseas. Mrs.
Puckridge moved to Canada in 2001. Her state pension has been frozen at £72.50 a week, instead of the full £169.50 entitlement. She said, “I simply wish to outline to the Prime Minister that we unfairly suffer through no fault of our own.”
She added, “My request to the Prime Minister, that he meet with me, is not for my personal benefit, but is a request made on behalf of more than 450,000 ‘frozen’ pensioners suffering as much, and in many cases far more, than me.”
During WWII, Mrs.
Puckridge served in an air defense unit and decoded messages as an officer in the Women’s Royal Indian Naval Service. She spent her working years in the UK up until she was 76, paying her taxes and national insurance. A petition urging the Prime Minister to meet with the veteran has amassed over 60,000 signatures.
Veteran campaigns for pension justice
Actress and activist Dame Joanna Lumley has thrown her support behind the cause. Lumley stated, “Times may be tough and challenging, but I urge the powers that be to be mindful that many of those affected by this cruel policy served Britain through even tougher times.”
32 UK parliamentarians have signed a pledge urging the UK Prime Minister to meet with Mrs.
Puckridge during her visit to the UK in December. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, a critic of the frozen pensions policy, expressed her frustration, saying, “The more I hear about this policy the more indefensible it becomes. For decades now, successive governments have hidden behind figures from the Department for Work and Pensions suggesting that righting this great wrong would cost billions.
That is simply not the case.”
Antoniazzi added, “The pensioners are only asking for uprating from this point going forward. Campaigners estimate that uprating on such a going-forward basis would cost about £50 million in the first year, a tiny proportion of the overall pensions budget. In Treasury terms, that’s a small price to pay to address such a great and long-standing injustice that’s hit generations of pensioners.”
A Government spokesperson said, “We are deeply proud of our veterans and their families for the contribution they make to our country.
Theirs is the ultimate public service, and their professionalism and bravery is rightly respected across the world. We understand people move abroad for many reasons, and we provide clear information on how this can impact their finances in retirement—with the policy on the uprating of the UK state pension for recipients living overseas a longstanding one.”
