Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to update the state pension for UK pensioners residing overseas; and if she will make a statement.

The cost of up-rating State Pensions overseas where they are not currently up-rated would be over £0.5 billion per year if all pensions in payment were increased to current UK levels. These costs would increase in future years. The policy on up-rating state pensions overseas is a long-standing one. It has been the policy of successive post-war Governments for around 70 years - UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and are uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in the European Economic Area (EEA) and in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. We have no plans to change this policy.

The Department regularly receives representations from Commonwealth countries on the up-rating of UK State Pension for pensioners residing in those countries.