Basic rate state pension has not risen for thousands who moved abroad and campaigners demand action
Millions of older people will see their pensions rise by 3.1% next spring in a move that will help protect them from the soaring cost of living – but Valerie Hepplestone and Sue Carpenter are among thousands who will not get a penny extra because of what has been dubbed an unfair “postcode lottery”.
While the full UK basic state pension is to go up by £4.25 to £141.85 a week in April, almost half a million Britons who emigrated or retired to countries such as Australia, Canada and South Africa are receiving payments of as little as £22 a week, which never go up.
