BIRD TALK

Hello Bird Talk!

One of your members has suggested that many other “snowbirds” would be extremely interested to learn about a pension that is available to most people who worked in the U.K. at some point in their lives. I am attaching a brief info piece for possible reprint in your excellent magazine, CSANews, and would be pleased to supply additional information upon request.

Rosalind Tosh
Volunteer
Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners
[A non-profit national organization]

IMAGINE FISHING UNDER YOUR SOFA CUSHIONS…
…and coming up with more than $2,000. How about $15,000? Now imagine that happening every year for the rest of your life!

That’s the range of windfall you might enjoy if you ever worked in the UK and contributed (or can contribute now, from Canada) sufficiently to Britain’s CPP-style state retirement pension, based on an exchange rate of $2 to ₤1 sterling.

The Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners (CABP) can offer advice on how to calculate your eligibility, current or future – indeed, the younger you find out, the greater the chances of enjoying a larger windfall. And you don’t even have to be British to collect.

Tony Bockman, CABP’s chairman, says he meets people every day who do not realize they are entitled to claim this lucrative pension. And others who already receive it but don’t know enough to ask for an additional amount – 60 per cent more – for their spouse (currently a wife only, but equal status for husbands begins in 2010), even if that spouse never stepped foot in Britain.

Cheaper than an RRSP

But the most numerous group of people who “miss out” are those who don’t know that they may be able to continue paying contributions from Canada, retroactively and/or going forward, in order to earn themselves an even larger return – and at a much cheaper cost than paying into an RRSP. This can be lucrative for anyone, and the younger the better.

If you’ve already pulled out the cache…

Those of you already receiving a British state retirement pension know all too well that the amount you receive never increases, regardless of inflation, though if you lived in any one of some three-dozen other countries (including the United States), it would go up every year. To end this discrimination, CABP has taken the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights, seeking pension parity for all UK pensioners, regardless of where they live.

The suit has been scrutinized, accepted, prioritized and placed on the fast track by this international court, and judgment is anticipated in 2008.

Safeguarding your rights

On the advice of a human rights legal expert, a secondary suit has also been filed listing all members of CABP as “plaintiffs,” thus ensuring that these 13,000-plus individuals will share in the fruits of the decision on the primary suit, as the ECHR does not accept class action suits. This list of “plaintiffs” is updated with the Court of Human Rights on a regular basis, as more and more people become members of CABP to safeguard their rights.

The Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners (CABP) is a non-profit organization with members and active volunteers across Canada. Toll-free to the national office: 1-888-591-3964. On-line: www.BritishPensions.com.

Response:
Thank you, Rosalind.