Anne Puckridge served in all three branches of the Armed Forces, but in retirement, she has to weigh up the costs of food shopping and buying Christmas and birthday gifts for her grandchildren.
The 99-year-old left the UK 23 years ago to be closer to her family in Canada. But she says the relaxing retirement she dreamed of was snatched from her after she discovered her UK state pension was “frozen”.
At the time she left, her pension was £72.50 per week. If she had stayed, it would now be worth £169.50 per week.
The veteran told i: “This law has seriously diminished my quality of life. I have to be so careful with what I spend now. I have to be so careful with Christmas and birthday gifts especially. I can’t treat my family like I once could.
“I’ve had to cut down on social activities. To be truthful, I hardly go out anymore because I can’t afford to.
“I used to love hosting at my house, but I am too embarrassed to invite my friends over now as I can’t entertain them in the same way that they can.”
Anne is one of around 500,000 UK state pensioners living abroad who has a “frozen” state pension.
Those relying on these “frozen” pensions are not covered by the triple lock, which ensures retirees in the UK have state pensions that rise every April by the highest of wages, the rate of inflation, or 2.5 per cent.
Britain has deals with some countries – including those in the EU – to ensure UK citizens living there on the state pension have their payouts uprated each year.
However, no such deals have been made in a number of Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Anne added: “Life in Canada is so expensive and month by month I could see my bank balance going down faster and faster. So, I had to dip into my savings – I had no choice. I had several thousand pounds saved up and over the past 10 years, these have all gone.
“At one stage, I got really desperate, and I had to sell the shares and premium bonds I had. Everything has gone now.
“I am ashamed to be British. This law is ruining so many lives of British pensioners around the world who have worked so hard their entire lives. How can Britain lack so much integrity?
“I’m lucky that I get a little bit of financial help from Canada, but it isn’t a lot, and I don’t like accepting this.”
According to the End Frozen Pensions campaign group, pensioners will lose out on £3,085.16 if they retired in 2013, £4,785.56 if they retired in 2003, £5,895.76 if they retired in 1993, and £7,042.36 if they retired in 1983.
Because of the policy, Anne has lost an estimated £46,000 overall since immigrating in 2001.
Earlier this year, Anne wrote to party leaders Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey, asking them to commit to ditching it in their party’s general election manifesto.
In the highly personal letters, she set out how the issue has affected her and her fellow victims. She also challenged them to “do right” by those affected by the policy.
She wrote: “This is primarily a matter of principle and morality. We pair our dues. Many, like me, served in the military, and we all played a role in helping build Britain.
“We ‘did right’ by the country. We look to you to make a manifesto commitment that under a government led by you, the country will ‘do right’ by us.”
Anne was still living with her family in India when Second World War broke out. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and was then transferred to the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force before later moving to the Women’s Royal Naval Service.
She is now one of the 40 per cent of British pensioners living outside of the UK affected by the issue.
The End Frozen Pensions campaign explained: “Those in countries with reciprocal agreements are unaffected so if you were a pensioner in the US you would continue to get an uprating, but if you lived just across the border in Canada you would not.
“We believe this is deeply unfair and arbitrary and penalises hard working Britons.”
The International Consortium of British Pensioners says that many of those affected by “frozen” state pensions worked as nurses, firemen, police officers and other public servants, some are military veterans. It said: “Many are now living in poverty despite paying their National Insurance Contributions in full.”
Although the Labour party didn’t specifically mention “frozen” pensions in its manifesto, it did pledge to “support” pensioners going forward.
A statement on the party’s website read: “Labour will protect the triple lock on pensions and increase the state pension each year in line with inflation, average earnings, or by 2.5 per cent, whichever is higher.
“We will support pensioners and give them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. All our plans are fully funded, and we will introduce tough spending roles to keep mortgages, inflation and taxes as low as possible. Delivering economic stability is our first step for change.”