Brits abroad

A recent British report says that a growing number of British people are electing to spend their retirement abroad. This survey suggests that one-in-10 Britons now live abroad and are therefore out of the “system” so to speak. With more pensioners away surely the time has come for the British government to become more generous when it comes to state benefits. If this trend continues a relatively large percentage of British pensioners will be living outside Britain and the majority will only be receiving their state pension. This means they are being discriminated against with their counterparts in Britain receiving a whole range of benefits from cold weather payments to allowances to pay for carers. I am sure that more pensioners would move abroad if they could receive the same benefits as they receive in Britain. If Chancellor Gordon Brown was to win some favour then he should extend cold weather payments to those pensioners living in Europe. At the moment the legislation says that only those who claimed the benefit in Britain and then moved abroad can receive it. Come on, Mr. Chancellor, give British pensioners living in Spain some joy and extend cold weather payments to them as well, I hardly think it will put a major dent in British Treasury coffers.