What can you do

All British Pensioners

  1. Join one of the organisations working to secure pension indexation
  2. Give your practical, moral and finacial support to your chosen organisation, in their campaigns on your behalf
  3. Promote membership of that organisation
  4. Whenever possible make people aware of the issue
  5. Remind migrants from Britain of their potential rights to a UK pension, if they are not aware of the possibility
  6. If you have been away from the UK for less than 15 years - re register to vote, contact your MP and raise the issue with him/her - point out that you will be voting.

BPiA Members

  1. Please print copies of the BPiA poster. Have these pinned up on notice boards, in clubs,( bowls, golf. RSL's general clubs),on church notice boards, at shopping centres, libraries and where-ever you think they will be seen by British pensioners.
  2. If you belong to societies/associations in which British are quite prominent, ask to have copies included with newsletters if you can persuade the secretaries to do so. Let them know how much our winning this Carson case will benefit the Australian economy (by $400M /year) and the Federal exchequer (approx $200M/year).
  3. Hand out copies of the application form to British friends and encourage them to join; have them sent out with newsletters of organisations to which you may belong
  4. Study and use the letter from Centerlink. to convince those pensioners who also receive a pension from Australia that they will not lose $ for $ when we win this case. They will be in front. The Aussie government will only take 40 cents off every $1 they will get from the UK, leaving them 60 cents/$1 better off. This is covered in paragraph 2 of the letter. It is very important you use this letter, for so many British expats, who are in receipt of some Aussie pension, do not understand how it is calculated and how it relates to the UK pension.
  5. Write to your local papers about the issue,
  6. Get on local talk-back radio and spread the message

BPiA - How you can help:

  1. Tell all your British ex-pat friends
  2. Tell your family and friends back in the U.K. Ask them to lobby their MPs
  3. Write to your local paper (this is proving very successful). Copies of standard letters available from Jim Tilley above
  4. Write to Australian Seniors
  5. Spread the word on your holiday travels
  6. Write to your Federal member requesting that the situation be published and advertised in the Australian government's Centrelink Age Pension News. This quarterly magazine is sent to 160 000 British pensioners living in Australia - the best way to publicise BPiA's existence and objectives.

NB Additional pension received from the U.K. does NOT mean the loss of an equivalent amount from the Australian pension. Centrelink management has confirmed that an extra $100 pension received from the U.K. will only cause a reduction of $40 in the Australian pension. U.K. pensioners will be better off. - Jennie di Blasi


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Last modified on: Monday, 1 September 2003