Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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the UK’s bilateral social security agreements with EU Member States, some of which date from the 1950s, are generally superseded by EU Regulations.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