Written question asked by Edward O'Hara (Labour) on Monday, 6 December 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 December 1999. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Monday, 13 December 1999 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many pensioners are currently in receipt of a United Kingdom state pension in (a) the USA and (b) the EU, excluding the UK; and if he will estimate how many (i) United States citizens and (ii) citizens of the EU, excluding the United Kingdom, who are domiciled in the United Kingdom are in receipt of a retirement pension from their country of origin. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners are currently in receipt of a United Kingdom state pension in (a) the USA and (b) the EU, excluding the UK; and if he will estimate how many (i) United States citizens and (ii) citizens of the EU, excluding the United Kingdom, who are domiciled in the United Kingdom are in receipt of a retirement pension from their country of origin. [102124] Mr. Rooker: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows. The number of overseas pensioners who were in receipt of a United Kingdom State Retirement Pension or Widow's Benefit at July 1999 is estimated at 110,000 in the USA and 222,000 in the EU (excluding UK). At September 1999 there were some 23,000 former US residents in the UK receiving US retirement or widow's benefits. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 341 c42-3W; 102124
Session: 1999-00
Subjects: Bereavement benefits European Union Pensions Social security benefits State retirement pensions Widowed people USA
Contains statistics: Yes