Frozen UK expat pensioners and their widows in Thailand have even more reason to be angry

The news that UK state pensions could bumper-rise by 8 percent from April next year has set off a chain-reaction of grief from British expats in Thailand whose allowances were frozen at the time they went to live abroad in most countries.

One of the criteria for increasing the UK old age pension is “average wages.” The Office of Budget Responsibility, funded by the Treasury, says that many poorly paid workers have lost their jobs owing to the pandemic. The net statistical effect overall is pushing up the wages and salaries of the better-paid, thus causing a technical distortion.

The maximum flat-rate pension is currently 179.60 pounds weekly, although the payable amount varies according to date of retirement and the number of paid contributions in working life. An increase of 8 percent would be an extra 14 pounds weekly on the…