Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners Visit us at www.BritishPensions.com

Issue #2, 2016

Roundtable unites shadow minister, diplomats and ethnic minorities

INSIDEMammoth effort by parliamentarians . . 3

AGM notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

DWP boss sympathetic? . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Brexit may freeze more pensioners . . . 7

Vote for directors Proxy Form . . . . . . . . 8

Mailbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Saying that her party leader had in-structed her to take a campaigning approach to her portfolio, Labour’s

new shadow pensions minister, Angela Rayner, has called for change on frozen pensions and committed herself to help-ing find a solution.

Speaking in February at a round-table event in Westminster hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions (APPG), the International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP) and the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), the shadow pensions minister stated, “This is a matter of common respect and decency and I will take a comprehensive look at the issue and what we must do.”

High CommissionsRepresentatives of the high commissions for Canada, Australia, Ghana, and St Vincent and the Grenadines each spoke of the issue, reasoning that it is wrong

for the UK to force their countries to subsidize the incomes of British pension-ers – people who have paid into Britain’s pension system and not theirs. They agreed it was time for the UK govern-ment to reconsider.

“It is simply a matter of principle,” said Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner Alan Kessel. “We are happy to discuss the issue of frozen pensions with the British government.”

Ethnic impactDot Gibson, General Secretary of the NPC, spoke of the domestic interest in changing pension freezing. She detailed the increasing number of aging people in Britain’s minority ethnic communi-ties with ties to frozen countries whose choices in retirement are restricted by the policy. Several NPC members present went on to describe how they personally will be affected and added their voices to the call for change.

ICBP Director Sheila Telford spoke of the consortium’s recent meetings with UK officials. Acknowledging their wider focus to “get pensions right”, she said, the fact is that for the government frozen

Continued on page 6…

2 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

JUSTICE is published by:

CANADIAN ALLIANCE OF BRITISH PENSIONERS

National Office: 202–4800 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M9A 1B1Tel: 416-253-6402 • Toll free: 1-888-591-3964Email: info@britishpensions.comWeb: www.BritishPensions.com

OFFICE HOURS: Monday-Friday, 10 am to 2 pm (Eastern Time)

Editor: Rosalind Tosh • justice@britishpensions .com

Advertising: Malcolm Campbell malcolmcampbell@britishpensions .com

© Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners

CHAPTER CONTACTSONTARIO:

GTA & Surround: Margaret Wells Tel: 905-450-9028 • Email: mawells@pathcom .com

Orillia/Barrie: Alan Llewellyn Tel: 705-329-0894 • Email: alwell04@yahoo .ca

Oshawa: George Morley Tel: 905-697-3783 • Email: morlege@gmail .com

Ottawa: Tony Bockman Tel: 613-627-9675 • Email: tony .bockman@primus .ca

Windsor: Ian Spencer Tel: 519-739-0808 • Email: isted2@yahoo .com

ALBERTA: Sheila Telford Tel: 403-245-8541 • Email: sheilatelford@shaw .ca

MANITOBA: Ken Butchart Tel: 204-222-6983 • Email: kmbutchart@me .com

NEW BRUNSWICK: Franklin Cardy Tel: 506-529-4280 • Email: fcardy@nb .sympatico .ca

NOVA SCOTIA: Michael Alford Tel: 902-835-9780 • Email: mjalford@bellaliant .net

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Stephen Lowe Tel: 902-963-4009 • Email: stephen .lowe@bellaliant .net

QUEBEC: Richard Yates Tel: 514-631-9020 • Email: rilieve@sympatico .ca

BRITISH COLUMBIA:Greater Victoria: Alan McFarlane Tel: 250-995-9356 • Email: alanmc@shaw .ca

Nanaimo: Ian Andexser Tel: 250-758-7594 • Email: iandexser@hotmail .com

Sooke Area: Fred Whittaker, Tel: 250-642-4968 • Email: seapeeps@telus .net

Squamish: Bill Avery Tel: 604 896 1575 • Email: averysen@telus .net

Elsewhere: Ian Andexser Tel: 250-758-7594 • Email: iandexser@hotmail .com

OTHER CANADIAN LOCATIONS & INTERNATIONAL: CABP Office: Tel: 416-253-6402 or 1-888-591-3964Email: info@britishpensions .com

Please note: All comments, information, articles, opinions and answers appearing in JUSTICE or provided by CABP or its volunteers are offered in good faith but are not intended to be a substitute for informed professional advice .

Deadline for submissions to the next issue: 24 June 2016

Guest Editorial by Sheila Telford

I recently witnessed with my own two eyes a Canadian politician’s level of interest in frozen British pensions soar

within minutes from polite interest in the affairs of a local constituent to determined engagement in the international issue.

What made the transformation happen was simple: personal, face-to-face interaction.

CABP member Anne Puckridge invited me to join her at the Calgary office of her Ottawa MP, Ron Liepert. In setting up the appointment, Anne had fully briefed his staffer, so Mr Liepert was familiar with the topic. It became apparent, however, that what had not fully sunk in was the level of exploitation that the UK’s policy imposes on Canada.

When Anne explained its impact not only on her own day-to-day life but also on Canada’s GDP – around a billion dollars a year – we could see the penny dropping. On purely practical financial terms, he totally got it.

Mr Liepert began talking about posing questions in the House of Commons. He spoke about letters to Cabinet ministers in Ottawa and of raising the matter through the Canada-UK Inter-Parliamentary Association, of which he is a member. He expressed interest in looking at the bilateral social security agreement between Canada and the UK.

In short, he was fired up to help us. This is the power of face-to-face interaction. And Anne, an inveterate

campaigner for pension justice, will make sure he is true to his word.

Now it’s your turn As CABP members know, we are once again intensifying interactions with the Canadian government with the goal of persuading them to actively pressure Britain to do the right thing. The level of our success will be influenced by members across the country following through with their individual MP (see Chairman’s Column, p.5).

After our experience with Mr Liepert, Anne Puckridge and I can confidently attest to the fact that the impact of any follow-through will be intensified by having a face-to-face interaction with your MP.

91-year-old Anne Puckridge (top) opened the eyes of her Canadian MP, Ron Liepert .

JUSTICE #2, 2016 - 3

Ian Blackford, vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions, recently led two

determined attempts to put an end to pension freezing, first tabling a motion for an annulment debate in the House of Commons and then petitioning the Speaker for an emergency debate.

His motion, EDM 1235, called for the annulment of the Uprating Regulations, which are the statutory instrument the government uses in the spring of each year to exclude ‘frozen’ pensioners from the uprating that has just been awarded to all state pensioners across the globe. In order for the exclu-sion to not take automatic effect, the tabled ‘regulations’ must be annulled by Parliament, which requires a vote to take place in the House.

EDM 1235 was signed in short order by 93 MPs representing eight parties, including the governing Conservative Party. As of March 24, the day on which Parliament was adjourning for the Easter recess, it had become the 16th most signed EDM of the 2015/16

parliamentary session (out of 1344 motions tabled). However, no debate was granted, in spite of the fact that seven MPs had, one after another, risen in the House to request one.

Undeterred, on the final session day before the Easter break, Mr Blackford used the eleventh hour opportunity pro-vided by the moments after adjournment of the House had been called (a brief period during which a backbencher can raise a subject that has been previously tabled) to voice an impassioned appeal for a debate once Parliament resumed in two weeks.

“(The Uprating Regulations) are being forced through this House,” he declared, referring to the fact that pension freezing for another year would robotically take effect by default during the Easter break. “The House should have the opportu-nity to debate the matter, which not only leaves 550,000 UK pensioners facing hardship, but discourages many UK citizens living in the UK from returning to their country of origin, as many wish to do in their retirement.”

Mammoth effort by parliamentary supporters

Ian Blackford (middle) and George Kerevan (right) were two of the seven Scottish National Party MPs who spoke back-to-back in the Commons on our behalf .

Pensions minister Ros Altmann appeared shockingly obscure when responding to questions on pension freezing in the House of Lords in late February.

Baroness Benjamin had formally submitted an Oral Question “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the frozen pensions policy on the choices of people who would like to move abroad or stay overseas during their retirement years.”

In spite of the query having been submitted ahead of time, the pensions minister simply repeated the well-worn script that has been used for decades by her department to shut down any dis-cussion – that overseas pensions are uprated only where there is a legal requirement to do so. Then she added, “The Government have made no assessment of the impact of this policy on pension-ers’ choices of residence.”

Instantly, Baroness Benjamin reminded the minister of the commitment made in November to our consortium and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions by policy minister Oliver Letwin that the government would commission cross-departmental research into the likely costs and savings of partial uprating. “Will the Minister please give an update on that work?” she asked.

Ros Altmann merely responded that her own department had not made any estimates.

The minister’s apparent unpreparedness for the question – or her decision to sidestep it – is unacceptable to both our consor-tium and the APPG and has led to a flurry of activity within Westminster.

Pensions minister fudges Q&A in Lords

Pensions minister Ros Altmann (left) fails to satisfy a request for information made on our behalf by Baroness Benjamin .

So many thanksThe number of CABP, BPiA (British Pensions in Australia) and ICBP supporters around the world who followed through on our request for them to contact British MPs regarding the signing of EDM 1235 was phenomenal . It made all the difference . Thank you!

We are also grateful to the Scottish National Party, seven of whose MPs rose in the Commons to demand a debate on the 2016 Uprating Regulations: Mhairi Black, Alan Brown, George Kerevan, Brendan O’Hara, Kirsten Oswald, Pete Wishart and (of course) Ian Blackford .

4 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

When: Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. • Registration opens at 1:00 p .m .

Where: Sir John Colborne Recreation Centre for Seniors

1565 Old Lakeshore Road West

Oakville, Ontario, L6L 6N1

How: • Old Lakeshore Road is accessed from Third Line

immediately south of Lakeshore Road W

• Free parking on site

Agenda: 1 . Welcome and Introductions

2 . Chairman’s Report

3 . Board Reports

4 . Financial Statements for December 31, 2015

5 . Amend Articles of Incorporation & Bylaws

6 . Election of Directors

7 . Appointment of Auditor

8 . Other business

9 . Adjourn

✪ The Corporation’s Financial Statements for the year ended

December 31, 2015 will be available at the AGM or can be

picked up from CABP’s office, or ordered for delivery by

prepaid mail .

✪ Only Members of the Alliance may vote at a General Meeting .

CALLING ALL MEMBERSCanadian Alliance of British PensionersANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 416-253-6402 or toll free 1-888-591-3964

JUSTICE #2, 2016 - 5

Chairman’s Columnby Dave Morris, CABP Chairman

Almost every page of this issue of JUSTICE chronicles a great amount of activity by a small

number of people, supporters who are committed to ending pension freezing. Not reported are the many additional hours of strategizing, organizing and follow-up that these supporters contrib-ute as well, so it is no surprise that they rely on the active participation of ‘fro-zen’ pensioners across the world to boost their efforts. Our appeal in March for CABP members to write to British MPs urging them to sign Early Day Motion 1235 is one example (see Mammoth effort by our parliamentary supporters in this issue). Your response to that appeal was excellent. Thank you for that!

There are lots of opportunities for you to help in a variety of ways. I very much hope and encourage you to get involved in one or more of the following important initiatives.

Firstly, we remind all our members to urge their MP in Ottawa to push the Canadian Government to apply political pressure against the UK Government for its pension freezing policy. Please tell your MP about the significant effect pension freezing has on Canada: it negatively im-pacts GDP up to $1 billion annually! (See UK’s freezing policy costs Canada dearly, on p.9) On top of that, Britain then passes the buck (pun intended) onto the backs of Canadian taxpayers, as a good number of ‘frozen’ pensioners turn to Canada’s guaranteed income supplement in order to make ends meet. Tell your MP how the policy affects your own life too. And you might share with them the brief Q&A two-pager I mention at the end of my column.

Best of all, rather than just writing a letter, is to pay a visit to your MP in the constituency office in your area. They are always willing to meet constituents and we know beyond doubt that personal contact like this really does increase the impact of your message.

For the name and contact details of your MP, simply enter your postal code where

indicated at this link: www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Compilations/HouseofCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC.

I look forward to hearing how things go.

Stories, pleaseWe also are looking to you to tell us about your personal experiences as a ‘frozen’ pen-sioner. These kinds of narratives are impor-tant for capturing the attention and support of the media (and government) in Canada. See Tell us a story, please in this issue.

Then there is… You can also help ensure that support for the UK campaign continues by making a few phone calls to fellow CABP members. Please see Help us provide friendly remind-ers in this issue and let us know in which locale you can lend a hand.

Your authorization is neededCABP’s annual meeting is just around the corner and I encourage all members who are unable to attend the event on June 18 (details on p.4) to participate by voting on the 2016-2017 board of directors via the proxy form on p.8 of this issue.

You will notice on the form that we are also requesting your authorization for a change to CABP’s bylaw – a change which we believe will strengthen the effectiveness of the board and so benefit the campaign for pension justice.

Currently, the bylaw allows a director to serve on the board for a maximum of five consecutive one-year terms, the exception being the Chairman who may serve for one additional term. This restriction has created problems for us in the past and we have lost enthusiastic and

competent directors because of this time restraint. Over the next two years the problem is going to worsen as we have five directors out of seven who would be unable to stand for re-election in 2017 and 2018.

Our solution to this problem is to amend the bylaw so as to allow directors who wish to do so to be elected for a maximum of three consecutive three-year terms, with the exception of the director serving as chairman who may extend the number of consecutive three-year terms to four. (Please see By-law revisions ‘Schedule B’ on p.11.) This would increase the number of years a director may serve consecutively from five to nine years, and the Chairman from six to 12 years.

There is also a minor ‘housekeeping’ amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (see ‘Schedule A’ on p.11), but this is only to recognize that under the new bylaw we may not need to elect directors at every Annual General Meeting.

I remind everyone that we are always looking for new directors for the board and will continue to ask for nominations each year. There is no restriction on loca-tion, as we have directors serving from across the country.

What’s it all about, anyway?We have created a brief Q&A paper that explains the frozen pensions issue to anyone who asks. We have been using it to provide an overview for people unfamiliar with the topic, including politicians and the Canadian media.

The two-pager is available online here: www.britishpensions.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Summary-of-frozen-pension-issue.pdf.

Unless we have it, you will be in the darkWe must have your current postal address and/or email address in order to keep you abreast of the latest news on pension freezing .

Please let us know each time any of your contact information changes!

info@BritishPensions .com • 416-253-6402 • 1-888-591-3964 (toll free)

6 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

ICBP Director John Markham has assumed interim chairman-ship of the International Consortium of British Pensioners, after Dave Morris resigned from the ICBP board for personal

reasons. Dave continues to serve as chairman of CABP. A ‘perma-nent’ consortium chairman will be appointed as soon as possible.

John has been ICBP’s chief lobbyist in Westminster for the past decade.

“We are currently busy following up on the cross-departmental costs and savings research promised to us by policy minister Oliver Letwin,” said John. “Also, with the impending potential impact of Brexit on pensioners in Europe, we are encouraging more MPs to raise the issue of pension freezing in the House.”

John paid tribute to the tenacious work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions, which has be-come a very strong and influential internal body in Westminster with an ever-increasing membership of MPs and peers from all parties, and also to PHA Media for their professional support and media relations work for the APPG and for our consortium.

The current ICBP board consists of two members from CABP (Sheila Telford and John) and two from our consortium partner organization, British Pensions in Australia (Jim Tilley and Mike Goodall). They are supported by the boards of CABP and BPiA and all activities are funded jointly by the two organizations, mainly through the annual fees collected from their members.

A familiar face at the consortium helm

Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner Alan Kessel and Labour’s shadow pensions minister Angela Rayner spoke out for “principle” and for “common respect and decency .”

pensions are “the elephant in the room.” She promised that ICBP would “keep trumpeting” for as long as it takes.

The roundtable was reported on by the Daily Mail, Citywire, and International Investment. The Independent referred to it in an article prior to the event taking place.

NEW STAGING OF THE CASE FOR UNFREEZINGA powerful new booklet communicates the case for ending pension freezing in a highly readable, lucid and effective format . You can access ‘Frozen British Pensions: The Case For Change’ here:

http://frozenbritishpensions .org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-Feb-ICBP-NPC-Pamphlet .pdf

Compiled jointly by ICBP and the NPC, the 24-page document was launched at the roundtable event in Westminster in February .

Roundtable…continued from page 1

NPC General Secretary Dot Gibson (left), APPG chairman Sir Roger Gale (third) and MP Angela Rayner (right) support ICBP director Sheila Telford as she promises to “keep on trumpeting” for pension justice .

JUSTICE #2, 2016 - 7

Brexit may freeze expats

in Europe

If Britain leaves the European Union, the number of ‘frozen’ pensioners may grow exponentially. When asked by Baroness Hooper (Conservative)

if the pensions of the 400,000 expat pensioners currently living in the EU would be frozen follow-ing Britain’s exit, pensions minister Ros Altmann responded that the issue had not yet been decided, before adding the usual DWP ‘script’ about pen-sions being uprated where there are reciprocal agreements or legal obligations to do so. Our consortium (ICBP) is aware that reciprocal agreements with some EU countries were in place before the EU took over social security coopera-tion; however it is far from certain that these old agreements would become the fall-back positions should Britain leave the EU. We will be asking further questions on this issue.“Meanwhile, we are delighted to able to report an increased level of support for our campaign from expats in Europe,” says ICBP chairman John Markham. “They are obviously concerned as to what impact Brexit may have on their state pensions.”The Independent newspaper provided excellent coverage of the late-February exchange between Baroness Hooper and Ros Altmann in the House of Lords, concluding with strong words about pension freezing in general: “Forget Brexit issues; this is a longstanding unfairness that needs to be put right.”

APPG tries to prevent freezing

of new pensioners

The House of Commons has approved a statutory instrument in-troducing the framework for the continued freezing of overseas pensioners under the new Single Tier Pension legislation (for

new pensioners).This was valiantly challenged at the committee stage by Ian

Blackford, vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions, with support from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). However, they were up against a government whip and Labour Party abstention from the vote, plus limited time to mobilise support. The vote passed by 297 to 73.

Obviously this result is disappointing for our consortium and for members of the APPG.

New DWP boss sympathetic to

pension reform?

Stephen Crabb is the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the regrettable resignation in mid-March of Iain Duncan Smith from that Cabinet post – regrettable be-

cause Mr Duncan Smith had recently indicated that he was prepared to support partial uprating if Treasury agreed to it.

In his first speech in the commons, the new head of DWP said, “I am absolutely clear that a compassionate and fair…system should not just be about numbers; behind every statistic there is a human being, and perhaps sometimes in government we forget that.”

He was referring specifically to welfare recipients at the time, how-ever we can hope that he will apply this wisdom and insight equally to ‘frozen’ pensioners.

Over the years, Mr Crabb has signed several early day motions espousing pension parity, though none since 2007. His parliamen-tary biography lists a particular interest in the affairs of three coun-tries where pensions are frozen.

Our consortium has contacted Mr Crabb and will be watching closely to see how he instructs pensions minister Ros Altmann regarding our file.

We’re watching to see what stance Stephen Crabb takes on pension freezing .

8 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

The Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners

FORM OF PROXYTo be completed by Members.

I, _______________________________________________, of the province/territory/country of ______________________,

a Member in good standing of the CANADIAN ALLIANCE OF BRITISH PENSIONERS, do hereby appoint:

Choose one of o Chairman of the Board, David Morris

Or o _____________________________________________ Other

as my proxy, to vote for me and on my behalf at the Annual General Meeting of the Alliance to be held on June 18, 2016, and at any adjournment thereof .

Dated at ___________________________________ this ______ day of _________ 2016 .

Member: ____________________________________________________ Membership number: __________ (Signature of Member)

1 . Vote for amending Articles of Incorporation under the provisions of the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFP Act):

BE IT RESOLVED AS A SPECIAL RESOLUTION THAT the directors of the Corporation are authorized and directed to make an application under section 197 . (1) of the NFP Act to the Director appointed under the NFP Act to amend the Articles of Incorporation .

1 . The Articles of Amendment, which have been submitted to this meeting and are annexed to this notice as Schedule A, are approved;

2 . Any one of the officers and directors of the Corporation is authorized to take all such actions and execute and deliver all such documentation, including the annexed Articles of Amendment in the forms fixed by the Director, which are necessary or desir-able for the implementation of this resolution .

For o Against o Abstain o

2 . Vote for amending By-laws of the Corporation under the provisions of the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFP Act): BE IT RESOLVED AS A ORDINARY RESOLUTION THAT the members of the Corporation confirm the by-law amendment as made by the directors under section 152 . (1) of the NFP Act .

1 . The amended by-law which has been submitted to this meeting and is annexed to this notice as Schedule B is approved;

For o Against o Abstain o

3 . Votes for Directors

David Acheson* (Since 2012) For o Against o Abstain o Ian Andexser* (Since 2013) For o Against o Abstain o Bill Avery* (Since 2013) For o Against o Abstain o Malcolm Campbell* (Since 2014) For o Against o Abstain o Hugh Fletcher* (Since 2013) For o Against o Abstain o David Morris* (Since 2013) For o Against o Abstain o Sheila Telford* For o Against o Abstain o Stephen Willetts* (Co-Opted 2015) For o Against o Abstain o * Nominated by the Nominating Committee

4 . To retain the current auditor, Brendan Pennylegion, C .A ., for the year ending December 31, 2016 .

For o Against o Abstain o

To be valid, this form of proxy or a duplicate of it must be duly completed, signed, dated and forwarded to the CABP national office at 202-4800 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M9A 1B1 so as to arrive not later than Friday, June 17, 2016. ALTERNATIVELY, the form may be brought to the meeting in person by the proxy nominee, in which case it must be shown to an officer of the Corporation for validation not later than 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Proxies which arrive or are presented outside the foregoing time schedule will not be accepted.

JUSTICE #2, 2016 - 9

Given the age bracket that many of us and our ‘clientele’ find ourselves in, it is no surprise that some of us

forget to renew our annual membership in CABP. A couple of times a year we review the list of non-renewals and endeavor to

make contact through a friendly phone call to determine the reason, because membership fees are the life blood of our campaign in Britain.

We need volunteers to help out with this. We will provide a short prepared script to explain the reason for your call and the various ways that people can renew. The listing of lapsed members (never more than 20) will be for your local area, however if you have a phone plan that includes some long distance calling so much the better.

From personal experience, I can hon-estly report that the majority of people say

it was an oversight and they are happy to bring their membership up to date.

To help, please contact CABP volun-teer Nigel Nelson (Thank you, Nigel!) at nigel@britishpensions.com.

Beautiful BC BritsA thousand thanks to the following BC members who recently made some of these phone calls: Bridget Piper, Marilyn Marshall, Barb Duncan, Sonya Bass, Harry Mayor, Joan McLeod, Nigel Fletcher, Alan McFarlane and Nigel Nelson.

Help us provide friendly reminders

by Ian Andexser, CABP Director

Tell us a story, pleaseby Nigel Nelson, CABP volunteer

We would like you to tell us a story, a true story – your story.

How has having a frozen pension affected you? What hardships have you experienced? How will it affect your

future? Do you know how much money the British government has kept back from you over the years? Have you ever thought of returning to live in the UK?

Give us some background too. Why did you come to Canada? Has it worked out for you? Do you now have family here – children, grandchildren? What close family do you still have in Britain?

We hope to feature a few stories in community newspapers across Canada, with the explicit prior permission of their authors. Human interest stories featuring local people are very powerful in their attraction to readers.

Our goal is to get more publicity in Canada for two reasons: to attract new members to CABP and to boost our case with the Canadian government. We know that community newspapers are a great vehicle for getting the message out.

Please send your story and the name of your local community newspaper to me, Nigel Nelson, at nigel@britishpensions.com.

UK’s freezing policy costs Canada dearly

The amount of additional cash flowing to Canadian residents if pensions were to be fully uprated is roughly $320 million a year, calculated at the aver-

age currency conversion rates. Given that this money is paid to seniors, it is assumed that it will generally be spent, rather than saved, and so is recycled in the econ-omy, contributing to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP).

At its most basic, GDP is calculated by adding up what everyone earned in a year (or what everyone spent in a year) and is one of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country’s economy.

The impact of an additional $320 million a year on Canada’s GDP can be determined by applying the standard formula of financial economics to measure the impact of new money in an economy: multiply the new money by the ‘velocity of money’ factor. This factor refers to how fast money passes from one holder to the next, and it varies from 2 to 3.

The precise GDP impact should pensions be fully up-rated will fluctuate somewhat, based on sterling/Canadian conversion rates, and on the ‘velocity of money’ multipli-er, which changes based on inflation and monetary policy. However, $320 million multiplied by a factor of 2.8 gives a positive annual GDP impact of $896 million – just shy of one billion.

10 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

Claim pension uprate when on holiday

A ‘frozen’ pensioner visiting any non-frozen country (with the notable exception of Bermuda and the US!) can claim a tempo-

rary pension uprating to cover the period of their visit. This includes such activities as cruising in the Mediterranean. It couldn’t be simpler to do – simply telephone the Pension Service in Newcastle within 28 days of arrival.

Have at hand the following information: National Insurance (NI) number, dates of arrival and departure, and an address where you’ll be staying. Keep boarding passes and other records, in case requested as proof of your visit.

To phone the Pension Service from within the UK: 0191-218-7777.

To phone from outside the UK: +44-191-218-7777.

NB: Don’t forget that this also applies to accompanying spouses who receive a British state pension, HOWEVER when telephon-ing the Pension Service the spouse must be available to answer any security questions.

One final note: for anyone in receipt of a UK state pension, the citizenship you hold – British or otherwise – does not affect your pension rights.

Most pensioners collect their UK state pension when they reach ‘State Pension Age’, which

is the earliest date possible. Some, however, decide to defer collecting until they are past pension age in order to collect a bigger pension at the later date. Others defer accidentally, not finding out about their state pension rights until some period after they have become entitled to it.

Older pensionersFor a person who reached pension age before 6th April 2016, the deferred pension is increased by 1% for every five weeks of deferral, which corresponds to 10.4%

for every year. This percentage is applied to the indexed rate of pension, meaning there is an increase for inflation on top of which there is an increase for the period of deferral.

If the pension is deferred by a year or more, the pre-6th April 2016 pensioner can choose to take a lump sum represent-ing all the missed payments plus interest at 2% over the Bank of England base rate. This lump sum is calculated using the indexed pension amount that applied at the start of each tax year on 6th April, but if this option is selected the weekly pension will be the amount that applied at state pension age. This weekly pension will not be indexed for those who live in frozen countries.

New pensioners

Those reaching pension age on or after 6th April 2016 are also able to defer their pen-sion, but they will not have the option of taking a lump sum. They will only be able to draw their basic weekly pension which will be increased by 1% for every nine weeks of deferral, corresponding to 5.8% for every year. This percentage will be applied to the indexed rate of pension for everyone except those pensioners who live in frozen countries.

In frozen countries, the percentage will be applied to the pension calculated at State Pension Age with no uprating for inflation over the deferral period. (See APPG tries to prevent freezing of new pensioners elsewhere in this issue.)

Changes to pension deferral rulesby Peter Wells

AlderneyAustriaBarbadosBelgiumBosnia-HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGibraltarGreeceGuernseyHungaryIcelandIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItaly

JamaicaJerseyLatviaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedoniaMaltaMauritiusNetherlandsNorwayPhilippinesPolandPortugalRomaniaSerbia & MontenegroSlovak RepublicSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited Kingdom

Countries where you can claim a temporary uprating

JUSTICE #2, 2016 - 11

By-law revisionsSchedule ACorporate Name: Canadian Alliance of British PensionersCorporation Number: 2706628

Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFP Act)Form 4004

Articles of Amendment

D - Other amendments, please specify

Current Additional provisions, if any

The directors may appoint one or more additional directors, who shall hold office for a term expiring not later than the close of the next annual general meeting of members, but the total number of directors so appointed may not exceed one-third of the number of directors elected at the previous annual general meeting of members.

Amended Additional provisions, if anyThe directors may appoint one or more additional directors, who shall hold office for a term expiring not later than the close of the next annual general meeting of members, but the total number of directors so appointed may not exceed one-third (1/3) of elected directors.

Schedule BCorporate Name: Canadian Alliance of British PensionersCorporation Number: 2706628

Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFP Act)By-Law Amendment

Current Bylaw

6.05 Election and Term of Office of Directors

Subject to the Articles, the members will elect the Directors at the first meeting of members and at each succeeding annual meeting at which an election of Directors is required, and the Directors shall be elected to hold office for a term expiring not later than the close of the next annual meeting of members following the election. Directors may only be eligible to serve for a maximum of five (5) consecutive one year terms, with the exception of a director that is serving as Chairman who may extend the number of consecutive one-year terms to six (6).

Amended Bylaw

6.05 Election and Term of Office of Directors

Subject to the Articles, the members will elect the Directors at the first meeting of members and at each succeeding annual meeting. Commencing in 2016 at which an election of Directors is required, the Directors shall be elected to hold office for a three year term expiring not later than the close of the annual meeting of members in the third year of office following the election. Directors may only be eligible to serve for a maximum of three (3) consecutive three year terms, with the exception of a director that is serving as Chairman who may extend the number of consecutive three-year terms to four (4).

I studied for my B.Sc. in Manchester and qualified as an accountant in the West

Midlands, my home turf. After working in local government, in the NHS, and in the private sec-tor, I emigrated with my wife to Canada in 1997.

I worked for the Manitoba provincial government, first in government services and then as a director with Manitoba Health. After that I became Vice President Finance and Administration at the University of Winnipeg until moving to a similar position at the University of Windsor in Ontario, from where I retired in 2012.

I now serve on several boards in the Windsor-Essex region, am studying for an M.A. in History, and continue to enthusiasti-cally support Wolverhampton Wanderers. Apart from family – we have a brand new grandchild in London – what I miss most about Britain is the English pub.

New director nominee

Stephen Willetts

12 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

Dickens Sweets & British Museum

We welcome new members Fred and Annie Hails and thank them for promoting CABP to the many people who enjoy visiting their popular ‘destination’ establishment in Chilliwack, BC – Dickens Sweets and British Museum .

What began as a small retirement project for the couple has grown into a 10,000-square-foot emporium of all things British, including a bakery, tea room (licenced, of course), curiosity shop and admission-free museum .

We also thank Fred and Annie for providing a link to CABP on their business website and in return we are pleased to provide a link on our website to theirs (www .dickenssweets .com) .

Many thanks to those of you who sent in ideas for ways in which we might market CABP. We appre-ciate every single suggestion and look forward to

receiving more. One of the people we heard from was Ralph Jones, a

member living in Chilliwack, B.C. Dr. Jones shops at a store in his community that specializes in British goods (see Dickens Sweets, below) and when he discovered they were unaware of CABP, he proceeded to fill them in about our work on behalf of British pensioners. The owners quickly agreed to display CABP’s promotional brochure and busi-ness cards in their store and became members themselves. They then went one step further: they put a link to CABP’s website on their store’s website.

This is a new marketing device for us, and in return we are pleased to provide a link on our website to theirs. We are ea-ger to enter into more such mutually beneficial arrangements across Canada.

If you come across a similar type of store in your community – there are quite a few around – let us know if they are willing to display our brochures and business cards in return for us includ-ing them on our website’s new listing of business supporters and, where applicable, providing mutual online hotlinks.

In progressIn the last edition of JUSTICE, we summarized what we have been doing to attract members: advertising on national television, on regional radio, in magazines like the British Canadian and Forever Young and in regional newspapers in BC. We also held briefing sessions for retirement specialists in two major banks.

We are experimenting now with small print ads in over 100 newspapers in the province of Alberta; ads that simply alert people who have worked in the UK to the fact that they may be missing out on a British state pension, and referring them to CABP’s website.

In the GTA, thanks to volunteer Nigel Nelson, we recently had an article published on the Brits in Toronto website: http://britsintoronto.com/2016/03/09/quirks-of-the-uk-state-pension-affecting-british-pensioners-living-abroad/.

We know that most new members join as a result of surfing the internet and happening upon our site, or by being referred by a current member. The latter really peaked during the contest we ran for the last two years, in which we awarded a new Apple computer to a lucky member for referring a new member. Watch the next issue for details of the next opportunity to win!

Mutual promotion for mutual growthby Malcolm Campbell, Marketing Director

JUSTICE #2, 2016 - 13

Letters to the Editor should be sent to the National Office or to: justice@britishpensions.com.

The Editor reserves the right to edit letters for clarity or length.

HAVING YOUR SAY…Take help where we find it

Further to ‘Egregious’ (letter in Justice #1, 2016), there is no room in our struggle for justice to say we only want support from certain politicians and not from others. We all have our political preferences but CABP is not party-political, nor should it be. I will take help from any person, group or party that can influence the outcome we all struggle to achieve.

Raymond JacksonMembership # 29771, Mulmur, Ontario

TaxingAs we are entitled to a full British pension, when doing our Canadian income tax return we should claim the missing infla-tion portion as an income tax taken by the UK government and allowed as a claimable deduction. This would then mean that the UK is not honoring the current agreement on not taxing Canadians on their UK pensions. In my case with over 20 years of pension, the missing portion is almost 50%.

Geoffrey KnightMembership # 24468, Lively, Ontario

Ed: We sympathize heartily with the concept! Unfortunately, how-ever, it would require a rewrite of the Double Taxation Agreement between Canada and the UK in order for the Canadian Revenue Agency to treat the income lost through freezing as a foreign tax.

No interestI am a fully “paid up” pensioner, as was my late husband – even when he worked in Zambia and other places, our first priority was our stamp. I have written to David Cameron on many occa-sions asking where does the interest on our money go, but never get an answer. I’m 83 and have supported this campaign for over 20 years.

Mrs Agnes M HarrowScottburgh, South Africa

Easy as ABCIn response to your request for assistance re signing EDM 1235, we have sent a message to 24 MPs in Britain. We worked our way through the alphabetical listing of members and sent an email to one MP in the ‘A’s, one in the ‘B’s, and so on. We hope this campaign raises the unfairness of the frozen pensions.

Lynne & Mick SheppardPoms in Australia

It’s a puzzle alrightThank you for your excellent presentation of Justice, always an enjoyable, informative and most encouraging read! Can you explain to me why the crossword has been omitted from the last edition of the journal?

John B Clifford-JonesMembership # 30922, Victoria BC

Ed: Alas, the talented CABP member who has been creating the cryptic crosswords for the past two years – Bob Waddell of Schomberg, Ontario – is unable to access his puzzle files due to a Trojan virus on his computer, which (unlike his popular puzzles) has so far proven to be totally unsolvable. Anyone know a miracle-working computer doctor?

Defense of the lingoI read with some horror the word ‘incented’ in the front page article of the last issue. I looked it up in my OED . . . not to be found. Did you make this word up? A better word is ‘motivated.’ The poor old English lingo takes some bashing from time to time but those of us born there should defend it stoutly.

Fred WhittakerMembership # 15408, Sooke, BC

Ed: We can’t take any credit for the word, as the verb ‘incent’ (‘to provide with an incentive’) has been in use since the mid 19th century, according to OxfordDictionaries.com – however it also identifies it as being ‘chiefly US’ so perhaps not sufficiently English English for some?

Promotion is your business too

Hand out a CABP business card to friends and colleagues who may know a British pensioner or one ‘in waiting’ . Request some cards from our Toronto office by phone or email and be sure to carry a few with you everywhere you go .

14 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

Twitter multiplies the pension message

by George Morley, POP Group

Three members of the POP group – POP stands for ‘Parity or Poverty’ – use Twitter as an additional vehicle for spreading the word about frozen pensions. So too do Sheila Telford, BPiA’s Jim Tilley and some members of the All-Party

Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions (along with many other British politicians and even government departments). The online social networking service has proven to be very effective.

After sending one “tweet” (a very brief message) regarding pension freezing, POP member Jeff Chipps did a limited time study. What he found was impressive – especially see the very last bullet:

• Number of times his message was forwarded on to others (re-tweeted) by someone: 44

• Number of people who indicated they appreciated receiving his message: 27

• Number of new people who chose to receive messages directly from Jeff: 4

• Number of people who received a re-tweet of Jeff ’s message: 39,670

“It just shows what Twitter can do,” says Jeff. Indeed. His one message reached almost 40,000 people!

How it worksOnce a person sends a ‘tweet’ on a topic, anyone who has indicated an in-terest in that topic automatically receives it and can then re-tweet it (send it on) to others. Those ‘others’ can in turn forward it to yet others, and on and on it can go. In this way, information is circulated far beyond one’s own friends and acquaintances, meaning exponential growth in getting the word out, as evidenced by Jeff ’s experiment.

Anyone can read tweets without becoming a registered user of Twitter; however only registered users can send tweets as well as read them. Twitter is easy to use and lots of guidance is provided by the company, e.g., new user FAQs are here: https://support.twitter.com/articles/13920#.

On Twitter, Jeff Chipps goes by the username “Ninepenneth”; our fellow POP member Norma Maloney is “Tatiehead”, and I am “Morgeo”. We heartily encourage every member of CABP to join us and help to intensify our efforts to end pension freezing.

There are 12 million UK state pensioners, all of whom

contributed similarly to the pension scheme via compulsory National

Insurance Contributions .•

Of the 12 million, just over one million live outside the UK .

• Half of the pensioners living overseas receive the same

annual cost-of-living increases as those still living in the UK,

while the other half does not – their pensions are frozen simply

because of where they have chosen to reside in

their retirement .•

Commonwealth nations and British overseas territories are home to

98 per cent of “frozen” pensioners, including 146,200 in Canada .

THE ISSUEAT A GLANCETHE ISSUEAT A GLANCE

JUSTICE #2, 2016 - 15

CABP MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OR RENEWALJoin or renew your membership online: www.britishpensions.com

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Low-income veterans living in Canada may qualify for the War Veterans Allowance (WVA) and its related services and benefits. The WVA provides monthly financial assistance to help veterans or their survivors

meet their basic needs.

To qualify, the veteran must:• have served with one of the Allied forces during the Second World War or

the Korean War; and

• have lived in Canada for at least 10 years or lived in Canada prior to enlisting.

For information:www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/services/financial/war-veterans-allowance1-866-522-2122 (toll-free) Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, local time.

Thank you for your war service

16 - JUSTICE #2, 2016

Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners (CABP)202 - 4800 Dundas Street West

Toronto M9A 1B1 CanadaPUBLICATION MAIL

AGREEMENT NUMBER 40010836

In memory of the

many who die

while waiting for

their pension to

be indexed, CABP

observes one minute

of silence before

each meeting .

YOU GET ALL THIS FOR $25Membership in CABP buys you…• Top-rated PR campaign in the UK

• The energy and support of an international consortium of pensioners

• Advice on dealing with the Dept for Work & Pensions (through CABP’s office)

• Four magazines a year to keep you informed

Join or renew now! Please use Membership Form inside back cover OR Join/renew online at: www.BritishPensions.com

MEMBERSHIP UP-TO-DATE?Check the Expiry date and KEEP UP YOUR SUPPORT for global pension parity.

JUSTICE is read

COAST-to-COASTPLACE YOUR AD WITH

Malcolm Campbell

mbcampbell99@gmail.com

1-888-591-3964 • 416-253-6402

Prices start at ONLY $110 – Discounts available

CABP members: Please tell ‘British’ businesses about this way of reaching thousands of potential customers

COAST-to-COAST

Important WWW spots to check out regularly

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions

www.FrozenBritishPensions.org

Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners

www.BritishPensions.com

International Consortium of British Pensioners

www.PensionJustice.org