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The UK State Pension is paid worldwide, but yearly increases only go to pensioners living in the UK, the EEA, Switzerland, and countries with a reciprocal agreement covering uprating. Thailand has no such agreement, so British pensioners here are stuck at a frozen rate. About 453,000 people in other countries are in the same position. The UK government says it has no plans to change this, while campaigners are pushing for reform through voter registration and evidence to the UK Pensions Commission.
How the freeze works
The UK State Pension is paid abroad, but the annual increase (uprating) only applies in certain places. Pensioners living in the UK, the EEA, Switzerland, or a country with a reciprocal social security agreement covering uprating get the rises. The US and the Philippines are among the countries with such agreements. Thailand has none.
For pensioners in Thailand, the rate is fixed at the level when they first claimed abroad, or when they left the UK if they were already claiming. It stays frozen unless the person returns to the UK or moves to a country where increases apply.
The rule applies to anyone in Thailand with a UK State Pension earned through National Insurance, regardless of nationality. That includes Thai nationals and others who once worked in the UK. It affects only the State Pension.
The numbers
The UK State Pension rises each April under the triple lock, which uses the highest of inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5%. This April the full new State Pension rose 4.8%.
<table> <tr><th>Item</th><th>Figure</th></tr> <tr><td>Full new State Pension after this April's rise</td><td>£241.30 a week (about 10,600 baht)</td></tr> <tr><td>Some of the longest-frozen overseas pensions (reported)</td><td>As low as £20 a week (about 880 baht)</td></tr> <tr><td>People drawing a UK State Pension overseas</td><td>About 1.1 million</td></tr> <tr><td>Of those, living in countries where it is frozen</td><td>About 453,000</td></tr> <tr><td>DWP estimate to raise all frozen pensions to current UK rates</td><td>About £930 million a year (about 40.9 billion baht)</td></tr> </table>
Most of the 453,000 affected pensioners live in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Missed increases compound each year, so the gap keeps widening. Financial advisers estimate that a retiree in a frozen-pension country could lose tens of thousands of pounds over a 20-year retirement, depending on their entitlement and departure date.
Campaigners say applying only future increases, with no backdating, would cost far less. Sir Roger Gale MP, a campaign supporter, puts the first-year cost at £38 million.
The UK government's position
Pensions Minister Torsten Bell told MPs on June 2 that the pension is payable regardless of nationality. He said uprating applies only where there is a legal requirement, usually a reciprocal agreement, and Thailand is not covered.
Bell kept his post in Prime Minister Andy Burnham's July reshuffle. The article says his priority remains pensioners living in the UK. Successive UK governments have kept the policy.
The campaign to change it
The British Overseas Voters Forum (BOVF) describes itself as non-party-political. It argues the freeze is unfair because affected pensioners paid the same National Insurance as those whose pensions rise.
Its main focus is getting affected people to register to vote in the UK. Since January 16, 2024, British citizens abroad who previously lived or were registered in the UK can register for general elections, however long they have been overseas. They register in their last UK constituency.
BOVF's view is that sympathy from politicians has not brought reform. Its argument is that MPs will only act if overseas voters register in large numbers and are tied to specific constituencies, especially marginal seats.
End Frozen Pensions and the International Consortium of British Pensioners have campaigned for years with no policy change. Campaigners have also submitted evidence to the UK Pensions Commission, whose final report is expected in spring 2027.
What it means for visitors and newcomers
For most tourists, very little. This is about long-term British retirees and pension holders, and visitors who are not drawing a UK State Pension abroad are unaffected.
It is useful context for long-stay expats, though. British retirees in Thailand may be living on fixed incomes. British visitors thinking about a move to Thailand should also know the pension freeze applies here.
Information sourced from The Thaiger.