While millions of retirees in the UK are set to benefit from a 4.8 percent rise in their State Pension from April 2026, nearly half a million British pensioners living overseas will see no change to their payments. The freeze affects those in countries without reciprocal social security agreements with the UK, many of which are Commonwealth nations.
Campaigners say this long-standing policy penalises pensioners based solely on where they live, not on what they paid in. With some retirees reportedly surviving on just £20 a week, the issue has once again drawn criticism for what is being called a gross injustice.
Overseas Pensioners Excluded from Triple Lock Guarantee
The State Pension is scheduled to increase by 4.8 percent in April 2026, driven by average earnings growth between May and July 2025. This rise, part of the government’s Triple Lock mechanism, will take the full New State Pension to £241.30 per week and the full Basic State Pension to £184.90 per week. According to official figures, those figures translate to annual payments of £12,547 and £9,614 respectively.
However, around 453,000 pensioners will not receive any increase at all. According to the End Frozen Pensions campaign, these individuals reside in countries such as Canada, Australia, which lack a reciprocal agreement with the UK. Their pensions remain frozen at the rate they first received upon leaving the UK, sometimes decades ago. By contrast, those living in EU countries and the United States continue to receive annual increases as if they still lived in Britain.
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed there are “no plans” to amend this policy, despite repeated calls for reform. According to the same campaign group, about 86 percent of those affected were never informed that their pension would be frozen if they moved abroad.
Long-Standing Issue Draws Renewed Criticism
The impact of the freeze has been described as severe. Nearly half of the affected pensioners receive £65 or less per week, with some living on just £20. According to the End Frozen Pensions campaign, this affects a disproportionately high number of older, vulnerable individuals, many of whom are in their 80s or 90s.
Campaigners have been lobbying the UK government for years, arguing that the policy unfairly penalises people who have paid into the system during their working lives. A petition signed by thousands of supporters has been submitted, and figures such as 100-year-old Second World War veteran Anne Puckridge have visited Parliament to raise awareness. John Duguid, Chair of the campaign, stated: “Once again, we are left out of sight, out of mind and out of pocket.”
The issue gained further visibility last year following the appointment of Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England, as Prime Minister of Canada. With more than 100,000 British pensioners residing in Canada alone, campaigners had hoped this political change might prompt renewed discussions, but so far no progress has been reported.
According to the UK government’s own estimates, lifting the freeze would cost £63 million in the first year, a fraction of the overall pension budget. Yet officials have continued to cite cost and precedent as justification for maintaining the policy.
With the 2026 uprating now confirmed and no shift in stance from ministers, campaigners argue that the situation not only remains unresolved but is growing more unjust with time. Many say the continued exclusion of pensioners in Commonwealth countries is especially difficult to accept, given the UK’s historic ties with those nations.
