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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with which other EU countries the UK has a bilateral arrangement for the payment of annual uprating of pensions that would remain in force in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

Justin Tomlinson

The terms of the UK’s bilateral social security agreements with EU Member States, some of which date from the 1950s, are generally superseded by EU Regulations.

The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU. If the result of the referendum is a decision to leave, then the Government will have two years under the Article 50 process to seek to negotiate the terms, including the payment of pensions, of the UK’s exit, with the possibility of extending this time frame with the agreement of the other 27 Member States.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on what other OECD member states do not uprate the pensions of its pensioners living abroad; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department does not hold the information requested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account his Department is taking of future levels of healthy life expectancy in making decisions on future levels of pension age.

Justin Tomlinson

The Pensions Act 2014 provides a statutory framework, which commits future governments to regular and structured review of the State Pension age at least once every six years. The first review, due to report by May 2017 will take into account up to date life expectancy data and the findings of the independently led review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will (a) review and (b) slow down the rate of increase in pensionable age for women.

Justin Tomlinson

The State Pension age changes, which were made to put pensions on a more financially sustainable footing given increases in life expectancy, were fully debated and voted on when the legislation was before Parliament.

During the Pensions Act 2011 a concession, worth £1.1 billion, was introduced to limit the impact of the rising State Pension age on those women most affected. These transitional arrangements capped the maximum delay at 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable.

Unwinding any of these changes means asking young people to assume more of the cost, and after they’ve already borne their fair share of the tough decisions made last Parliament to bring Government spending under control.

Therefore, the Secretary of State is clear that there are no plans to bring forward further concessions or changes.