A PENSIONER honoured with an MBE and OBE claims he has been cut adrift by the government because of pension rules.

Expat Richard Hyde, 73, formerly of Brighton, dedicated his life to working for the government around the world before he retired in 2014.

But said he will miss out on the rise in state pension brought into force this week because his retirement fund has been frozen at £70.49 a week since 2007 when he turned 65.

Mr Hyde, who used to live near Preston Park but moved to Chiang Mai in Thailand when his wife Ana died, was made an MBE in 1980 for service in Belgium and an OBE in 2009 for service to the British community in Madagascar.

He said he cannot afford to move back to the UK because of the cost of living and decided to speak out to warn others who are planning retiring abroad.

He said: "The government have twice recognised my work on their behalf with accolades, yet are still unwilling to pay my full pension, one I’ve contributed to during the whole of my working life.

"It’s a major injustice that the government denies people of their rightful pension. I expect the government to respect the right of people to the pension they have paid for."

The pension given to expats at state retirement age remains the same for the duration of retirement, regardless of how long pensioners live, with no annual increase.

Campaigners argue pensioners are suffering age discrimination, with someone aged 90 living in Canada getting a full pension of just £43.60 while a 65 year-old retiring to Canada now would get £115.95 per week.

It is thought just 0.7 per cent of the pensions budget, or £580 million, would be needed to alter the imbalance.

It is thought the problem could affect more than 550,000 Britons worldwide in scores of countries including Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Most of the pensioners affected by this live in Commonwealth countries.

The new rules

ON Wednesday, a new state pension was introduced with a new single-tier flat rate of £155.65 a week or £8,094 a year.

This is a £39.70 weekly rise on the current full basic state pension of £115.95, or £6,029 annually.

But according to the National Pensioners Convention, which analysed Department for Work and Pensions’ figures, less than half of those reaching state pension age shortly after this year will get paid the full weekly amount.