If you are affected by the UK’s frozen State Pension policy, there are three things you can do today: join the movement, register to vote and help us build the political pressure needed to bring frozen pensions to an end.
On 7 September, members of the British Overseas Voters Forum’s Frozen UK State Pension Subgroup met for the first time, bringing together campaigners and representatives with experience of the issue in countries including Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.
The meeting marked the beginning of an important new strand of BOVF’s work.
The principle behind it is simple.
British citizens overseas need to turn numbers into political influence!
The Frozen Pension Injustice
The UK State Pension is payable around the world. However, depending upon the country in which you live, your pension may not receive the annual increases given to pensioners living in the UK and certain other countries.
For those affected, their UK State Pension is effectively frozen.
Over the years, campaigners around the world have worked tirelessly to challenge this policy. They have written to MPs, organised petitions, engaged governments, generated media coverage and made the case for change.
BOVF wants to complement that work by concentrating on another source of influence that British citizens overseas possess:
OUR VOTES!
From Campaigning to Political Influence
For decades, British citizens overseas have been relatively easy for Westminster to overlook.
We want to help change that.
The restoration of lifelong voting rights for British citizens overseas creates an opportunity to build a much stronger political constituency.
Imagine thousands — and ultimately hundreds of thousands — more British citizens overseas registered to vote and engaging with the MPs representing the constituencies in which their votes count.
Then imagine those voters connected through an organisation capable of coordinating their voices and demonstrating to MPs and political parties that overseas British citizens are an organised electoral constituency.
That is the strategy BOVF wants to help build.
And frozen pensions can be an important part of it.
Three Things You Can Do
Become a BOVF Supporter or Member
Whether frozen pensions affect you personally, affect someone you know, or you simply believe British citizens overseas deserve a stronger voice in UK politics, we want you involved.
Becoming a BOVF Supporter or Member helps us demonstrate that British citizens overseas are willing to organise around the issues affecting them.
Register to Vote
Being a registered voter gives that concern political weight. If you are an eligible British citizen living overseas, make sure you are registered to vote in the UK.
Then encourage other eligible British citizens you know to do the same.
The more overseas citizens who register, the harder it becomes for our collective concerns to be treated as peripheral to British politics.
Campaign to End Frozen Pensions
BOVF’s Frozen UK State Pension Subgroup is bringing together people from around the world who want to help raise awareness, engage fellow British citizens overseas, communicate with MPs, develop country networks, share campaign materials and tell the stories of people affected by frozen pensions.
You don’t have to be an experienced campaigner.
You can help by sharing information, encouraging friends to register to vote, talking about frozen pensions within your local British community, contacting your MP, helping us reach people in your country or simply spreading the word.
One Person Can Be Ignored. A Constituency Cannot.
And frozen pensions can be an important part of it.The frozen pension campaign has compelling arguments.
But arguments become much more difficult for politicians to ignore when they are backed by organised voters.
That is why BOVF wants to connect the campaign against frozen pensions with the wider movement to give British citizens overseas a stronger and more effective voice in UK politics.
Our objective is not to replace the excellent work already being undertaken by frozen pension organisations around the world. It is to complement it by building something additional: political strength through voter registration, organisation and coordinated engagement.
So, if you are a British citizen overseas, please take three steps:
Join us. Register to vote. Help us end frozen pensions.
And then ask another British citizen overseas to do the same.
Because the more of us who participate, the stronger our collective voice becomes.
