loppylugs1

This is the most convoluted robbery in the history of man.

...or woman

Pecans have become super expensive because the Chinese discovered them.

There is pecan pie and there is pecan pie.

In other words, the DENSITY of the pecans in the pecan pie.

Have to change to possum pie

Only 1 in 3 will get the flat-rate £148 state pension in full: Ministers promised it was for everyone but missed contributions hit an extra 100,000 workers

New pension was unveiled as a way of ending unfairness and complexity

But figures imply 100,000 fewer people than expected will get the maximum

30,000 who it was thought would qualify in the first year will get far less

By RUTH LYTHE FOR MONEY MAIL

Pension blow: Government figures imply 100,000 fewer people than expected will get the maximum state pension in the first ten years of the new deal

Just one in three workers will receive the full £148 flat-rate state pension next year — far fewer than first estimated, Money Mail can reveal.

Government figures imply 100,000 fewer than expected will get the maximum in the first ten years of the new deal.

This includes an estimated 30,000 people who it was thought would qualify in the first year but will now get far less.

In total, just 222,000 of the roughly 600,000 people who will hit state pension age in the 12 months from April 2016 can claim the full amount.

It is a new blow to a generation of savers who were told everyone would get the flat-rate pension if they had paid their National Insurance contributions.

Malcolm McLean, senior consultant at actuarial firm Barnett Waddingham, says: ‘Some politicians, who should have known better, said we would have a more generous and simpler flat-rate pension scheme,

Daily Mail 2015-07-22

The figure £148 is not set in stone anyway,first £152,then £150 ,now £148 could easily be at £145 or even lower when April next year comes around....bit of a bugger when the 2023 year was unveiled at the lower figure of £113.10 for basic pension. Only those who have done sod all will get the full amount., just being chased lower and lower each year

The "Wrath of God" has not been visited on the erring pensioners I see

Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2014/15 preliminary estimates.

No investigation

Never mind,could make something up I suppose

Yes keep an address in UK Spain or anywhere DWP hardly going to write to a UK address asking if you are in Thailand,make them look a laughing stock,plus a waste of a stamp

For somebody with such a "Big Tax" bill, you sure have an avid interest in a subject (Frozen State Pension) that would be (to people with a "reasonable" tax bill) a "rounding error" in their monthly finances.

For me, any (UK) Tax Bill that would make me "wince" would include elements where it would be of benefit to be a non-UK resident for Tax purposes (which you clearly could be/are?), so either you're fiddling yourself out of money or I doubt I'd be impressed at the "size of yours" (Tax Bill that is).

Happy to be proven wrong (whilst continuing to pay 0% CGT/Tax on income from my UK Property & only 10% withholding Tax on my UK Dividends).

never be a non-resident for tax purposes pensions derive from the UK.,thought you would have known that

Well we get all sorts of commentators,,just like Mr offshore with all his property in the UK,....and yes all have to pay tax (well no not really,especially when you are offshore,this thread will not concern you ,pay nothing in,get nothing out most importantly I do not like getting shafted,,especially when i pay it and getting stuffed at the other end when trying for something back

,

A bit of good news though,yes I think one AN Other would have taken note,superannuation was extracted wrongly for those in uniform going to cost the tax payer over half a billion,another good reason why the state pension will never change,not in the foreseeable future anyway

Obviously still working,get to the pension stage,or getting thrown off the Offshore element will make a difference

Are you having a laugh? I'm a non-UK resident for Tax purposes from my days working in Singapore where I paid approx 11-13% on my salary (vs approx 45-50% including NI & this before the 50% tax bracket), & there is no way I'm paying 35+% tax on my UK Dividends so I can save my £2,200pa state pension from being frozen (I contracted out of SERPS in 1988) so I'll be in the "Never" camp thanks.

When (if) you get to the position where your tax bill makes people "wince", you'll understand there are a lot more income streams than pensions/UK property & when you look up, you'll see that there are very few truly wealthy people (I am certainly not one of them) who #choose# to be UK-Resident for Tax Purposes.

No ,it makes me wince,not interested in how others react ps but yes I renewed my driving licence here

Of course you need to get all your ducks in a row with the same addresses etc, and never have anything to do with the embassy, certainly not registering or getting income verification letters from them for extensions. If you do that the only way I can see them locating you is if they ask Thai immigration, and even then if you have an extension there is nothing that says you cannot be in the EU for the required time to get your pension increase.

Registering at the Thai immigration means nothing,just easy access to the country when you arrive,likewise income letters,it would take some doing to track movements,but then is it worth it? no.

Always cheaper flying into hub airport on continent,saved a packet BKK Oslo Barc then Ryanair to favourite airport.

Just get on with it obviously jealousy on this thread would get a notice or two,but my tax bill would make anyone wince at the size of it,

For somebody with such a "Big Tax" bill, you sure have an avid interest in a subject (Frozen State Pension) that would be (to people with a "reasonable" tax bill) a "rounding error" in their monthly finances.

For me, any (UK) Tax Bill that would make me "wince" would include elements where it would be of benefit to be a non-UK resident for Tax purposes (which you clearly could be/are?), so either you're fiddling yourself out of money or I doubt I'd be impressed at the "size of yours" (Tax Bill that is).

Happy to be proven wrong (whilst continuing to pay 0% CGT/Tax on income from my UK Property & only 10% withholding Tax on my UK Dividends).

never be a non-resident for tax purposes pensions derive from the UK.,thought you would have known that

Well we get all sorts of commentators,,just like Mr offshore with all his property in the UK,....and yes all have to pay tax (well no not really,especially when you are offshore,this thread will not concern you ,pay nothing in,get nothing out most importantly I do not like getting shafted,,especially when i pay it and getting stuffed at the other end when trying for something back

,

A bit of good news though,yes I think one AN Other would have taken note,superannuation was extracted wrongly for those in uniform going to cost the tax payer over half a billion,another good reason why the state pension will never change,not in the foreseeable future anyway

Obviously still working,get to the pension stage,or getting thrown off the Offshore element will make a difference

Don't get the idea of a freedom of information request, surely that's just bringing attention on yourself? What would you request anyway?

You need to couch the question in the actual,not the potential ie "how many" not "what if"

The whiff gets more strong!

Try using a biological powder on those underpants of yours

The suspicion of any such connection could be eliminated by submitting a suitably worded FoI request.

Good idea would set many minds at rest

Of course you need to get all your ducks in a row with the same addresses etc, and never have anything to do with the embassy, certainly not registering or getting income verification letters from them for extensions. If you do that the only way I can see them locating you is if they ask Thai immigration, and even then if you have an extension there is nothing that says you cannot be in the EU for the required time to get your pension increase.

Registering at the Thai immigration means nothing,just easy access to the country when you arrive,likewise income letters,it would take some doing to track movements,but then is it worth it? no.

Always cheaper flying into hub airport on continent,saved a packet BKK Oslo Barc then Ryanair to favourite airport.

Just get on with it obviously jealousy on this thread would get a notice or two,but my tax bill would make anyone wince at the size of it,

20 mg is a lot to take<id take 'em but a long way off

It would never be cost effective to chase erring pensioners,never in a million years & there is most definitely a tie up with DWP and revenue ,people do trip themselves up with the private pension providers address when tax assessment comes up, inescapable fact a letter will be forwarded with words of "how long" and frozen at that point. Three years winter fuel pay back was one instance I was aware of, others just frozen at that point.

I just wonder at individuals attempts to justify their actions at attempting to shock/frighten individuals who choose to break free of restrictions,utter rubbish,like a bloody parrot sat on the shoulder ,same load of utter &lt;deleted&gt; " I know of no restriction" crap just knowing something ,anything that would inspire, anything credible,but nothing but rubbish ,absolute crap

I too wore a uniform,,public sectored pension etc. that leaves the OAP trailing in its wake,but am not averse to claiming something that I consider rightfully mine and to hell with the politicians who state otherwise,

Finally I guess you were never at the (then) new ambassadors meeting when he tried to whip up a meet the (UK) people ,a come and register at the embassy invite. I attended one meeting ,knew 3 or 4 others all same result,barely 10% took up his invite ,and as he stated ,yes the frozen pension was the reason

In skimming through the DWP Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15 I did spot this on page 96:-

22. During 2014-15, the Department has undertaken work in a number of areas to reduce fraud and error. These include: • ........... • Addressing abroad fraud by greater use of data-sharing to verify the continued entitlement of UK state pensioners living overseas;

This probably refers more to the increased activity in issuing Life Certificates noted on other threads in this forum. It could also include expats falsely claiming to be resident in the UK, but the extent to which it is on their radar as a significant problem is anybody's guess. However, if they decide that they could save a few million quid the 'data-sharing' activities could persuade them to take an interest, if there are as many "unfrozen pensioners in Thailand as you suggest. I'm one of the "few" (in your view) who are "frozen", but the issue is so outrageous that I don't blame anyone for trying to get away with it. I just prefer to sleep at night.

Finally ,just a highlight but I would reverse that last statement I just couldn't sleep at night with the pension slowly but surely being eroded four of five years down the line would see me gone or adjust my thinking, it would give me nightmares at the thought of losing the money

so if the rat bags catch you out for several years over payment, all they can do is freeze it and not claim it back. Is that correct?

yes correct,but if another benefit is attached to the pension that will be reduced

But I have my full oap ,and more importantly you do not. Lived in another frozen country before Thailand, DWP knew then and now when I shifted address. You will just have to keep the 1234 guessing game up ,keep trying at a situation you are happy in,obviously you are not happy at all at the moment,but hopefully that will pass in time,LOL

No whiff of anything from me,how about you?

I'm in the fortunate position whereby my State Pension is superfluous to my financial requirements during retirement, that having been said I do receive the full state pension during this my first year. And because I also have a home in the UK where I spend several months each year, I could claim that I am UK resident and be assured of future cost of living increases, I chose however not to do so because it is against the rules and in my view, immoral. More importantly, I am taxed far less on my global earnings because I am not UK resident for tax purposes than any pension cost of living increases could ever make up for. So no, no whiff of anything here either!

Off shore then,yes explains a lot,nothing more immoral than seeking ways to avoid the UK tax bill

getting a bit cheesed off now with this thread,any bit of gossip ,anything then the rumour mill starts "jail" "police" courts" all crap pure and simply crap.

The frozen pension will never be lifted,the NHS issue should have been a clue as to the thinking of UK govt. more like anyone leaving the UK will have the UK pension stopped altogether, a more likely situation

This frozen malarky isnt here forever loppylugs. This state sponsored con trick will eventually be addressed, not least because advances in technology will help enable us to reach an increasingly wider audience who won't put up with it for much longer, especially if they think of the strain on the NHS/social housing etc if we all head home.

Call it common sense.

An idea,mass disobedience from the likes of Aussie,all declare a UK address ,a paid one,see how that goes down.

Bit more coming out from pension meetings GAD and employers state pension(the old one) actually goes down to something like £113,then made up by credits in 2023,quite a bit more from past employment but that's it

# 945 you do not pay them back, rules quite clearly state no reduction,no stoppage,nothing can stop its full path to the recipient . Cheers!!!

Must be those underpants of yours

As the DWP rules state the OAP cannot be stopped reduced or re-paid only another benefit attached to it will be reduced.

Another round of pure crap about to be launched Gossip and the war guess what happened? 1234 any guesses?

completely happy and secure along with 90% of the others in Thailand

It was targeted at "life certificates" ie are you still alive

Yawn, yet another distorted leftie interpretation of what they think citizens are owed as a result of birth right alone!

And whilst it may not be easily possible to immediately identify verbiage within all of the various sets of all of, "the rules", that can convince them of their errant ways, the truth will out one day, likely after their demise and the various government departments have their final account via probate. An alternative to that might just be when some tee'd off "friend" decides a certain type of behavior is unacceptable and shops them (increasingly common), good luck with those things.

...but the DWP know I am here and here for quite a few years. There are alternatives to life here in Thailand,people do not have to whinge about frozen pensions ,the frozen pension is here forever,nothing will change that.

No penalty no charge back,no guilty/not guilty ,so people have a choice..and if you read the quoted document it states giving dignity to the OAP,yes Ill accept that

I do not believe you!

Simply, if the DWP truly does know of your full time existence here in Thailand and continues to pay you annual increases, there is one set of rules for you and another for the remaining UK expat retirees.

Perhaps if you want to convince us of your case you will allow us to use your name and details, in a class action maybe, in order to force a change of heart on the part of DWP, on behalf of all expat retirees?

Personally, I think you are simply a bored and probably delusional attention seeker.

But I have my full oap ,and more importantly you do not. Lived in another frozen country before Thailand, DWP knew then and now when I shifted address. You will just have to keep the 1234 guessing game up ,keep trying at a situation you are happy in,obviously you are not happy at all at the moment,but hopefully that will pass in time,LOL

No whiff of anything from me,how about you?

so what are these 'stringent checks' ? we need to know the facts, not scaremongering. If you have a UK address and a ni number why would you have to verify identity?

I sense a whiff of nervousness in the air!

Must be those underpants of yours

As the DWP rules state the OAP cannot be stopped reduced or re-paid only another benefit attached to it will be reduced.

Another round of pure crap about to be launched Gossip and the war guess what happened? 1234 any guesses?

completely happy and secure along with 90% of the others in Thailand

It was targeted at "life certificates" ie are you still alive

Yawn, yet another distorted leftie interpretation of what they think citizens are owed as a result of birth right alone!

And whilst it may not be easily possible to immediately identify verbiage within all of the various sets of all of, "the rules", that can convince them of their errant ways, the truth will out one day, likely after their demise and the various government departments have their final account via probate. An alternative to that might just be when some tee'd off "friend" decides a certain type of behavior is unacceptable and shops them (increasingly common), good luck with those things.

...but the DWP know I am here and here for quite a few years. There are alternatives to life here in Thailand,people do not have to whinge about frozen pensions ,the frozen pension is here forever,nothing will change that.

No penalty no charge back,no guilty/not guilty ,so people have a choice..and if you read the quoted document it states giving dignity to the OAP,yes Ill accept that

Bit of a continuance, BP today states the figure for Samsung is 1,800 shops bushiness are closing and the 300 baht a day is the prime reason.

Deputy PM states he wants wages reduced ,how the hell does anyone manage on less than 300 baht a day,maybe a reason for staying on a bit longer than fleeing. USA threatening Thai airways with stoppage plus EU threatening too with fishing policy

Worlds highest debt individually and taking an absolute nosedive

FWIW the US had similar problems with their lack of interconnected systems and information sharing between States AND more importantly, between levels of law enforcement, until 9/11 that is. The reasons for that however are somewhat different from the UK example in that nobody perceived a need!

Those underpants of yours will sort this mess out then

"DWP has also increased its efforts to eradicate benefit fraud among claimants living outside the UK, for example British pensioners living abroad. New, stringent checks place greater responsibility on people who have moved abroad to verify their identity and prove they are eligible for their claim".

so what are these 'stringent checks' ? we need to know the facts, not scaremongering. If you have a UK address and a ni number why would you have to verify identity?

I sense a whiff of nervousness in the air!

Must be those underpants of yours

As the DWP rules state the OAP cannot be stopped reduced or re-paid only another benefit attached to it will be reduced.

Another round of pure crap about to be launched Gossip and the war guess what happened? 1234 any guesses?

completely happy and secure along with 90% of the others in Thailand

It was targeted at "life certificates" ie are you still alive

An abundance of raw natural resources exported. No domestic industry to speak of and Thailand wants to be a world player. I have seen nothing that makes me think that this country is swirling down the drain. The only hope is that the youth will become assets, but no one cares about the future, they all just want what they can get now. Lazy, greedy, corrupt....should be the next slogan for Thai tourism, which is going to take a big fall since they have put all their eggs in the Chinese basket.

Still thinking ,are you? This was not my thinking either..too lazy..just a copy and paste from another critic BP today

Domestic industry? Thailand produces half the hard drives in the world, a big percentage of the autos, only 9 countries make more and is always in the top producers of rice. You are uninformed to the point of rudeness.

Do my eyes deceive? 1,400 workers sacked this week Samsung hard drive manufacturer in Thailand on top of a load more gone and going,only one here uninformed sunshine and it sure ain't me DUH

ps rice think the suicide rate for Thai farmers is about to hit an all time high

Do you not read,more importantly the papers

The results of Labor Force Survey in June 2015 showed that there are population, aged 15 years and over, of about 55.23 million persons. Of these 38.71 million were in the labor force or available for work (38.23 million were employed, 0.32 million were unemployed and 0.15 million were seasonally inactive labor force), while 16.52 million were not in the labor force or not available for work, such as housewives, students or elderly. There were 38.23 million employed persons, which 12.81 and 25.42 million were in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors, respectively.

http://web.nso.go.th/en/survey/data_survey/150715_summary_June58.pdf

Most if not all on 300 baht a day,that's not work,its slavery

No way out especially for the boys/men,little or no meaningful education,no language skills,stuck in dead end foreign owned factories,robots feeding the robots,unless being a rice farmer/rubber planter,but even these are under threat,once Burma gets its act together and it is,it will outperform Thailand in every respect. Those rice paddies there are vast,rubber plantations have integrated rail lines through them

Cannot be bothered anymore about Thailand,need out and as one remarkably adept punter wrote Skyscanner is without doubt my friend,get me airline tix to get the hell out of it.

Got all the toys desktop tablets,Kindles I need,all chattering away morn 'til night,have the ladies too.

All I see are headlines "hotels struggling to survive" " no rain" crime rates that are sorta scary,Chinese demanding 40% off room rates (that's OK), come January the reds and yellows banging hell out of each other yet again.

I can have all the toys elsewhere but when I open the curtains in the morn I want to see a new freshness,clean tidy roads,no cheaters on each and every corner,but then this is Thailand,hello The Algarve

Just to add I do look at other ex pat web sites throughout the world,and it is this one,the only one that consistently outperforms the lot of 'em in groans and moans put together,Thailand perhaps has something going for it, yes the women,but not much to keep the majority of farang anchored here indefinitely

An abundance of raw natural resources exported. No domestic industry to speak of and Thailand wants to be a world player. I have seen nothing that makes me think that this country is swirling down the drain. The only hope is that the youth will become assets, but no one cares about the future, they all just want what they can get now. Lazy, greedy, corrupt....should be the next slogan for Thai tourism, which is going to take a big fall since they have put all their eggs in the Chinese basket.

Still thinking ,are you? This was not my thinking either..too lazy..just a copy and paste from another critic BP today

Domestic industry? Thailand produces half the hard drives in the world, a big percentage of the autos, only 9 countries make more and is always in the top producers of rice. You are uninformed to the point of rudeness.

Do my eyes deceive? 1,400 workers sacked this week Samsung hard drive manufacturer in Thailand on top of a load more gone and going,only one here uninformed sunshine and it sure ain't me DUH

ps rice think the suicide rate for Thai farmers is about to hit an all time high

Do you not read,more importantly the papers

How right you are...no direction,just joining the flow.

I too am truly pissed off here,no challenge,no nothing,too old to change anything,'cept perhaps places to live. Thailand is going down the plughole at a pace of kinots ,just do not know what motivates these people,do not want to learn anything especially another language which will at least encourage them to travel and see how their near neighbours live ,perhaps want to migrate to improve themselves,the contrast to living standards is surprising

Ive had enough ,about to start a round of air travel to see other places ,but have baggage which does not lelp my choice

" these people,do not want to learn anything especially another language"

Sounds like you are pissed off because you came here and the people do not want to learn how to be more like you!

How rude they are!

The nerve of some people!

Think about that.

An abundance of raw natural resources exported. No domestic industry to speak of and Thailand wants to be a world player. I have seen nothing that makes me think that this country is swirling down the drain. The only hope is that the youth will become assets, but no one cares about the future, they all just want what they can get now. Lazy, greedy, corrupt....should be the next slogan for Thai tourism, which is going to take a big fall since they have put all their eggs in the Chinese basket.

Still thinking ,are you? This was not my thinking either..too lazy..just a copy and paste from another critic BP today

I'm ugly,but not an American

Had Kindle now for over 3 years Fire XD, but getting full,need a second one as I do not want to get rid of majority of books,( a non-fiction fan) pass a few on as DRM removed, but now using Calibre and using that for book choice ,same book ,same author can be got for free(just saved £27 just on one over Kindle pricing)

A cheaper epub tablet perhaps Nook,or even a Tesco Hudl with Kindle app installed,or even a True tablet,True seem to be pushing a good one at the moment.

Q Any ideas?

Would not trust my own shadow here

Egg Benedictine,basically 2 poached eggs laid on a bun with dried ham,sauce , was 72 baht overnight increase 119 baht..Foodland restaurant 60% overnight

Egg Benedictine LOL!!

Surely you've been around forums long enough to know that criticizing spelling or grammar is bad forum etiquette.

You're assuming that the member is a native English speaker, which is quite ignorant on an International forum such as this. Be careful that Muphrey's Law won't come back to bite you on the a**. (and that goes equally for the 2 other ignorant members who liked your inappropriate attempt at humour.).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

Wind yer neck in Tropo, no criticism, just laughter at the irony......if his favourite brekky had indeed been drenched in benedictine then the price of 119 baht was exceptionally cheap, but i guess that went over both yer heads.

BTW, it's Murphy's law. ;-)

That is why it went from 72 to 119 overnight