Expat pensioner appeals to Lords

By Sarah Toyne
BBC News Online personal finance reporter

An expat pensioner campaigning for a right to an equal UK state pension has taken her fight to the House of Lords, BBC News Online has learned.

In June, Annette Carson, who lives in South Africa, lost her case challenging the government's expat pensioner policy at the Court of Appeal in London.

Although the Court of Appeal refused Ms Carson a right of appeal, she has now applied to the House of Lords' Appeal Committee for permission to challenge the decision.

The case was lodged on 16 July before Parliament went into recess.

Case chronology

In May 2002, Annette Carson lost an original attempt at the High court to overturn the UK government's "frozen pension" policy.

Ms Carson is among an estimated 490,000 British pensioners who live overseas and have had their pensions "frozen" at the rate they were first paid abroad.

Under bilateral agreements with countries including US and EU members, the government has upgraded pensions for British people who retire there.

But social security agreements with other countries such as Canada, South Africa and Australia were drawn up in the 1950s, before inflation became such an important issue.