Our good friend Dave Cart recently read an article on the “This is Money” website about a 100 year old lady, Mrs. Patricia Coulthard, who reported that she is missing out on thousands of pounds a year in state pension because she moved from the UK to Australia, where payments to elderly Britons are currently frozen.
According to the article, Ms. Coulthard, who served as a nurse in World War II, receives a £46-a-week state pension which hasn't increased since she went abroad to live near her children (in Australia) in the early 1990s.
She is one of nearly 500,000 elderly expats in a country where state pensions are currently frozen at whatever amount they were set at when they moved overseas, a government policy critics call 'outrageously cruel' and 'morally wrong'.
Dave noted that Mrs Coulthard emigrated to Australia from the UK in the early 1990’s to be with her children, and he wondered if by any chance she might be the mother of our own Richard “Dick” Coulthard who served here in the Bermuda Police from 1970-1976, and who emigrated with his wife and family to Australia in 1989. CLICK HERE for an article Dick wrote for our “Then and Now” column.
Young P.C. Dick Coulthard on patrol
Dave thought he could possibly see a “family resemblance” between Dick and Mrs Couthard, so we wrote to Dick to see if she is related to him. We have since received this reply from him:-
“Thank you for your email re Patricia Coulthard. Firstly, while flattered to be linked to this brave and lovely lady, I can assure you that she is no relation to me. Although funnily enough, my sister is called Patricia and my father Thomas fought at the Battle of Kohima in Burma like this lady. I can however identify with her complaint regarding her UK pension payment. I have been retired ten years and have received the same unindexed payment each time. Thanks also to Dave Cart who felt that I looked like a 100-year-old lady! Mind you, at 76 I am getting close.
Retirement-wise Jenny and I live in a lovely retirement village of around 550 people in Adelaide. I keep myself busy by managing the two bars we have here and serve on two committees as well as being a Covid Marshal.
Fitness-wise I play lawn bowls a couple of times a week and regularly walk.
I am pleased to say that I am the same build and weight as when I served in Bermuda. Jenny has a few health issues unfortunately but keeps herself busy with quilting and knitting at a sewing group. We have been married 48 years and, as you can see from the attached photo, she is still very fond of me - at least I think that's what she means on the photo!
Familywise we have three children, two in the South Australian Police Force and one with the Royal Australian Air Force. Between them we have seven grandchildren aged between one and twenty-one and consider ourselves to be very fortunate.
Covid-wise the state of South Australia was reasonably lucky. It prevented cross-border travel for some time and managed to keep the toll down. Consequently, out of 1.7 million people in South Australia only about 350 died. Jenny and I avoided getting it and now life here is almost back to normal. I have always appreciated my time in Bermuda and extend my best wishes to you and all my former colleagues."
CLICK HERE to view the group of new recruits, including young P.C. Coulthard, who joined the Bermuda Police in 1970. It’s very rare for us to find group photos of “Localization Courses”.
As those of you who are still receiving Bermuda Police pensions will be aware, no matter where you now reside, we’ve had our own pensions frozen since the last increase in 2012. CLICK HERE for an article we published in 2017 about the “Continued cost of living freeze on pensions”.
(Then) Minister of FinanceOur ExPo President, Cal Smith, advised our Expo Committee on 4th February 2022, that the Minister of Finance, The Hon Curtis Dickinson, would be addressing the House of Assembly that afternoon on the 2020 actuarial review of the contributory pensions scheme. CLICK HERE to view the report given by the Finance Minister which made it clear there is a “massive Shortfall” in the Contributory Pensions Fund, and in the Minister's words, it is "critical to ensure the long-term sustainability of this fund.”
This is certainly an issue of major concern to ExPo and we would invite our members to provide us with their own comments about our “Frozen Pensions”!