The pension system is definitely flawed.
I have been married to my wife for 35 years. She was Thai but became a naturalised British subject and lived in the UK with me for 18 years, before we emigrated/retired to Thailand. For 8 of those years, I was the only breadwinner - she did not take any benefits. Therefore she only has 10 years of NI contributions and is entitled to a pension of about 200 pounds per month. However, because she lives abroad 1) her pension will never increase and will stay static until she dies - no yearly increase 2) She cannot claim pension credit.
At the moment we are financially OK based on my pensions, but should I pre-decease her then she will have no alternative but to return to the UK leaving her only relatives over here, who would not be able to support her, and she would then claim accommodation and pension credit in the UK. It would be much cheaper to increase her pension and better family wise if pension credit was abolished and pensions were increased for ex-pats in line with the pensions in the UK.