State pension arrangements for British expats aren’t yet guaranteed, despite the deal reached between the UK and the European Union.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday (November 26), Prime Minister Theresa May said that the government will still needed to "negotiate some of the arrangements in relation to certain benefits, such as pensions, under the future trading relationship".
On Sunday the leaders of the 27 European Union member states endorsed the Brexit withdrawal agreement and approved the political declaration on future relations between the UK and the EU.
But the deal has proven controversial and several members of the Conservative Party have called for Mrs May to stand down as Prime Minister, with some claiming it gives the EU too much power over the UK and others saying the opposite.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there are 900,000 Brits living abroad in the EU. Of this total, 220,000 are aged 65 or more.
Existing EU treaties support the accumulation and receipt of the British state pension for British citizens living elsewhere in the EU.
This means contributions towards another EU country's state pension system during the individual's working life can be used to enhance the saver's entitlement to a British state pension.
At the moment an EU citizen only needs to make one state pension claim at retirement, regardless of their working history within the EU.
A British citizen in receipt of a British state pension elsewhere in the EU will also see their pension payments increase in line with recipients who are resident in the UK – currently governed by the triple lock.
Under the current triple lock system, the state pension increases each year in line with whichever is the highest: consumer price inflation (CPI), average earnings growth or 2.5 per cent.
In 2019, the state pension will rise in line with the 2.6 per cent earnings growth figure from July 2018, by £4.25 a week to £168.60.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
