British Abroad

In our earlier piece, Raising the State Pension age to 75: a betrayal, we argued that pushing the State Pension age into people’s mid seventies would break the basic deal workers and voluntary contributors have relied on for decades. Since then, the argument has shifted up a gear. A 20 year State Pension. Former pensions minister Steve Webb and consultancy LCP have gone public with a new package of “radical reforms”. They say it is time to stop thinking of the State Pension as something you receive from a fixed age until death, and start thinking of it as something… Read more: 20 Year State Pension? A Warning

Calls to push the UK State Pension age (SPA) towards 75 have resurfaced as government restarts a formal review and revives a Pensions Commission. The argument goes like this: we’re living longer, the bill is ballooning, so everyone should work longer. It sounds pragmatic but in our opinion it’s a blunt, regressive policy that shifts risk onto those least able to bear it and it breaks faith with millions who have planned around the rules, including those of us who’ve kept paying in from overseas. A fresh SPA review is underway and heavyweight ‘pension experts’ like Tom McPhail at the… Read more: Raising the State Pension age to 75? A betrayal

Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Compliance and Escalation For a decade, Iran’s nuclear activities have embodied a paradox of earnest cooperation and alarming provocation throughout the Middle East. On one hand, Tehran adhered closely to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after its signing in 2015. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors confirmed “Tehran’s strict compliance with its commitments” under the deal in the ensuing years. By early 2016, Iran had shipped abroad enriched uranium, dismantled centrifuges, and allowed intrusive inspections; the UN and major powers responded by lifting nuclear-related sanctions. Every quarterly IAEA report up to 2018 found Iran respecting the accord’s limits… Read more: Iran’s Nuclear Paradox in a ‘Might Is Right’ Middle East

The Pension Raid No One Saw Coming For British expats with any defined benefit / DB pensions, a quiet but consequential change is on the horizon. The UK Government’s Pension Schemes Bill proposes amendments that carry significant risk for those depending on this secure, inflation-protected income during retirement. While officials dress it up as freeing “trapped capital” for growth, what it amounts to for many pension holders is the legalisation of employer access to pension surpluses at your expense. The proposed legislation allows companies to reclaim pension scheme surpluses that had previously been safeguarded by trust deeds and legislative boundaries.… Read more: DB Pensions 2025-27: Who’s most at risk from new bill?

UK media has warned that the State Pension’s annual “triple lock” increases could make pension spending an ever-larger share of the economy. In fact, the triple lock – a government guarantee to raise pensions by the highest of inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5% – does add to public costs. Official forecasts show that spending on pensions is significant but stable. In recent years, state pensions cost roughly 5–6% of GDP, not the 9% claimed by some commentators. Even under the triple lock, independent analysis (from the Pensions Policy Institute) finds pension costs rising only gradually – from today’s ~6.5%… Read more: Triple Lock and State Pension Sustainability in the Media