Thornhill
October 16, 2008 11:31 PM
Any residents of York Region who once worked in Britain or those born in that country should be interested in a meeting in Thornhill next week concerning pension rights.
The Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners, a non-profit organization run by volunteers, is presenting a public information session Saturday, October 25 at 1:30 p.m. at the Thornhill Community Centre.
The Alliance organization is working to notify British residents living in Canada, or anyone who worked in Britain and paid compulsory National Insurance contributions towards the state’s retirement pension, about changes made through the Pension Reform Act passed in the UK in July 2007.
Members want those living here to know that the British pension is ‘frozen’ from the day anyone starts to receive it and is not indexed annually.
However, British residents living in the United States or European countries such as Greece or Germany receive their full entitlement.
Members feel this is an unfair situation, and are challenging this inequity in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
Alliance members will also explain how people can ‘make up’ contributions for past years in order to qualify for the pension.
If you’d like to learn more, come to the Thornhill Community Centre at 7755 Bayview Avenue, e-mail
pension2@bellnet.ca or check out information online at
www.britishpensions.com.