She cited an intervention by Steve Webb, the then UK Pensions Minister, before the 2014 referendum in which he said people who had “accumulated rights” would be entitled to current levels of state pension in an independent Scotland.
However, Mr Webb promptly corrected this error at the time, writing to MPs that it would be for an independent Scottish government to fund its own state pensions and noting that Scotland’s population was ageing more rapidly than the UK’s.
The row was reignited this week after Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, and Kate Forbes, the Finance Secretary, both claimed state pension payments would continue from London after independence.
This is despite the state pension being funded from current tax revenues, rather than workers paying into any pot for them to draw down when they retire.
Pay as you go pensions are pay as you go funded. All that matters is whose tax revenue stream gets to fund the current pensions.
I find myself actually interested in how the human corkscrew will twist his way through this one. Or perhaps even ignore it?
Having grown up during the collapse of the empire, I’ve always believed that anyone who gets independence has to pay their own way.
This applies to Scotland as well as Afghanistan.
“noting that Scotland’s population was ageing more rapidly than the UK’s.”
Have they invented some form of time travel in Scotland.* I know lots of things were invented by Scots men, so I wouldn’t put it past them.
* I know, I know, it’s just statistics.
“noting that Scotland’s population was ageing more rapidly than the UK’s.”
I suspect living under the SNP’s governance does that to you.
EvilDrSmith: Perhaps it just seems like that to them?
Didn’t the UK agree to pay the pensions of its EU employees post-Brexit? Feels like a precedent has been set.
If I am going to have to pay tax as a resident of the Rest of the UK to fund Scottish old age pensions, which resident of Scotland is going to pay tax to fund mine?
Does anyone here know what OAP procedure was used at Irish independence?
The payment of EU pensions would only be a precedent for civil service pensions I assume, they are talking about the state pension paid to everyone it seems.
I thought there was no ‘right’ to a pension? In that if Parliament so decided all pensions could be abolished and no-one would have any recourse to law on the basis they’d paid X years of NI contributions and thus were entitled to a pension? That there’s no legally enforceable contract between State and individual?
Jim, the tale I heard when I was in Western Australia was that if a Pommy came there after retirement, the UK government would refuse to pay his pension.
Perhaps Tim or BiS would know whether I’m right or not.
You can claim your U.K. pension if you live outside the U.K. as long as you have paid sufficient NI contributions, you can even voluntarily top up contributions if you are short
@BniC
True, BUT, unless you live in odd places like Montenegro or the Philippines that have some sort of reciprocal agreement (I think the EU is still included post-Brexit) your pension is fixed at the rate it was at the start. No annual rises. Curiously a large part of the Commonwealth and most ex-colonies come into the fixed rate category.
The illogicallity is that my RAF pension is not so restricted.
Re pensions increases:
If you in EU, EAA or one of many other countries – eg US, Turkey, Bosnia – you get increases, but oddly not Canada, NZ or OZ.
HTH
@Jim – “I thought there was no ‘right’ to a pension?”
That follows from Parliament being soverign – it can always pass any law so you cannot have any guaranteed rights against the state. While the Human Rights Act currently puts some fairly feeble limits on laws, it’s just a law like any other and can be abolished at any time.