A SALTCOATS army veteran is backing calls to give long-retired ex-service personnel a pension.

Currently, veterans who left the armed forces before April 5, 1975, having served for fewer than 22 years, or 16 years if they were officers, receive no pension for their service.

It is estimated that there are around 250,000 veterans who currently do not receive a pension.

Jimmy Miller, 74, along with over 300,000 other people has signed a petition by the Equality for Veterans Association supporting the veterans’ cause.

Jimmy said: “I proudly served my country for sixteen years in the Scots Greys and later the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and throughout all that time no-one spoke to me about any pension arrangements at any point.

“Before I left the armed services in 1974 no-one from the MoD told me about the pension arrangements to be introduced the following year.

“Had I know that if I stayed in the army just one more year I would have been entitled to a military pension then I might have made a different decision.” Member of Parliament for North Ayrshire and Arran Katy Clark sponsored a Parliamentary debate on Veterans’ Pensions on Monday.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Ms Clark said: “We should all be extremely grateful for the contribution made to the United Kingdom by our armed forces.

“Sadly for far too long the sacrifices made by those who served before April 1975 has not been properly recognised by successive governments.

“These veterans were prevented from enrolling in conventional pension schemes during their period of service and a large number were poorly informed about the implications of pensions’ legislation in the early 1970s.

“Many decisions at that time about when to leave the armed services were therefore taken without all the available information to hand.

“Those who chose to retire shortly before April 1975 continue to feel the financial implication of their decision to this day.” “The Government’s position appears to be it cannot change military pensions retrospectively as this could have potential implications across the public sector.

“Veterans have, however, always been treated differently by Government due to the Military Covenant which recognises the unique and often highly dangerous nature of military service.

“I believe if the Government is serious about honouring this covenant they should be looking to provide lasting financial recognition to pre-April 1975 veterans to honour their loyal service.  “This is an important issue for many of the veterans affected as they feel that their contribution has not be recognised and that they have been treated unfairly.” John Bailey, Deputy Chairman of the Equality for Veterans Association, said: “It is a disgrace that so many veterans have been disadvantaged by arbitrary pension rule changes enacted in 1975.

“The 300,000 members of the public who signed petitions, appealing for veterans’ pension rights, were appalled to find that after many years of loyal service in the Armed Forces, so many were left without any pension recognition.

“Successive governments have failed to deal with the issue, and the Ministry of Defence has consistently trotted out the mantra of ‘No retrospection in respect of pensions.” “Time is running out for these veterans, estimated to number 250,000, all of whom are now senior citizens.

“The veterans do not have the luxury of time to fight a protracted campaign to secure retrospective pension changes – but there is another way.

“It is within the gift of the government to make compensatory payments to all of those disadvantaged.

“It is high time that the government lived up to its alleged commitment to veterans’ issues and put right this glaring wrong.”