Court hearing expat pensions case

A case that could affect the pensions of thousands of Britons who have retired abroad will be heard in a European court later.

A group of 14 pensioners who have moved abroad want their UK state pension to rise in line with inflation each year.

UK expats living in the European Economic Area see their UK pension rise with the cost of living, but others in some Commonwealth countries do not.

A two-hour hearing will be held at the European Court of Human Rights.

This is the latest stage in a long-running legal challenge, and will be the end of the line in the legal process.

A two-hour hearing is expected to take place in the Strasbourg court on Wednesday, but judgement in the case will not be made until March or April 2010.

One of those whose case is to be outlined during the hearing is Annette Carson, who emigrated to South Africa in 1989.

After emigrating, she continued to make full contributions to her UK state pension and, on retirement in 2000, began to receive pension payments.

But since then, the UK authorities have frozen the level of payments at £67.50 a week.

She took her case to various UK courts, including the House of Lords - where it was rejected. She, and other campaigners, claim that the rules are unfair as it penalises some people who have paid national insurance contributions all their lives.

However, the UK Department of Work and Pensions argues that the government's priority is to help the least well-off pensioners living in the UK.

Annual upratings of the UK state pension are paid to recipients living in the European Economic Area and Switzerland, as well as countries where there are reciprocal social security agreements such as the US, Jersey and Guernsey and Turkey.

Countries where pension payments to expats are frozen include Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and South Africa.