This is my mother Anne, a 95 year-old WW2 veteran. She is one of 510,000 Britons who are being defrauded by the British government and one of the estimated 100,000 of these who are military veterans.  As we celebrate VE Day, the injustice suffered by my mother and other veterans, particularly those of World War Two seems even more outrageous.

My mother served her country, then she spent the rest of her working-life paying National Insurance. She expected, like the rest of us, that when it was time to retire she would be able to access the pension she had paid into. 

But now in her 90s, my mum, who does all her own shopping and cleaning, has to think twice about making a trip to the supermarket, or before buying Christmas gifts for her grandchildren. Why? Because at the age of 76 my mother moved to Canada to be close to her family in old age. And currently there is a loophole that means that if a pensioner moves to another country, the Government can stop paying the full pension that is due. 

If mum had stayed in the UK she would be receiving £134.25 a week, instead she is punished for leaving with a pension stuck at £72.50 for the rest of her life. 

This is despite the fact that by living overseas she is saving the British government thousands of pounds each year in medical costs, bus passes, social services and other benefits.

Pensions are supposed to increase year on year because over time the value of money and the cost of living changes. However British pensioners in most Commonwealth and many other countries have their pensions “frozen” - meaning their pensions are fixed forever at the amount they were when they left the UK. There are only a handful of random places (such as Israel, Samoa, Guam, and strangely the USA) where annual increases are paid. Here’s a list of all frozen and unfrozen countries: http://www.britishpensions.org.au/frozenindexed.htm

For my Mum a frozen pension means having to choose between a muffin or half a dozen eggs at the checkout, but for others the difference can mean poverty. Many vulnerable overseas pensioners have been forced to return to the UK, leaving their support network and family behind. It’s humiliating. And just plain wrong.

They paid in. Now government should pay out.

Please sign this petition, for my Mum and for all the other overseas pensioners who are being cheated by the British government.

Thank you.