Keith5588

2 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

@sandyf is actually using a different company to the one I use and we both seem to be happy with our respective companies,

PS;  I did not know that the company I use are now charging £20/month, (have checked they are still charging me £12!) but I think I would still pay that!

 

@scottiejohn the link you posted takes me to   https://www.myukpost.com/   and I think they now charge  £20/month so you now have a good deal I think.

My mistake and appologises @sandyf stated "I also use Ukpostbox" and I thought it was the same as you. Similar name but different.  I now see that someone else mentioned Ukpostbox.   

My mistake. 

@scottiejohn

Thanks again Scottiejohn I referred to Myukpost in my opening post as I had seen you mention them before in another thread.   I have just had another look and I think they charge £20 per month and not £12, and they charge more for other work. Maybe you pay £12 as you started with them 8 years ago.

Saying that as with many things I would rather pay more if the service is better.

@sandyf  thanks for the extra information. You and scottiejohn have both used Myukpost for many years and you are both are satisfied with them which is good information for me.

47 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

Mail Forwarding | Mail Scanning | Mail Redirection | Mail Address

I have used this company for many years and yes they do provide a full UK address.  I am even registered to vote using that address.

 

One point of warning is that you MUST set it up whilst you still have a UK address that you can prove.  They explain all this in detail!

@scottiejohn  

Thank you so much. Thanks for the advice about doing it while I am in my house before I sell it, I might have not done that.

Can I ask something, you say that they provide a full UK address. My thinking is that it cannot be an individual UK address just for you and that most of their customers will have this address which is a house that they use to receive all mail, maybe also where they work.

For instance you give this address to your bank and then your bank sends you a letter via Royal Mail to this address. If Myukpost has 5,000 customers it cannot provide 5,000 houses?

I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with this setup at all. I’m just trying to understand.

Thanks again for the information, it has helped me.

56 minutes ago, phetphet said:

If you have a friend that you can trust, that is willing to let you use their address, I would ask them.

Having a UK address to accept mail, new credit/debit cards, and so many other unexpected things is so handy.

 

Your UK bank will likely close your accounts without a UK address. So bear that in mind. In my opinion it should be avoided at all cost to prevent great inconvenience.

 

You have already stated that you would ask for your mail to be sent to a friend anyway, so don't complicate things.

 

it's good that you are planning ahead. It will give you time to iron out the kinks.

 

Just going into your the bank branch where your account is held, and changing your UK address might not require any further proof than ID and bank card, but if it is required, you would also need to ask your friend to put you on their Council Tax for a month or two so you could obtain proof of address. Obviously this would entail a couple of months payment.

 

Another thing. Also change your UK driving licence address. My one recently expired and I have no way of renewing it now here in Thailand. I wanted to keep it, as once expired, I may have to  retake a UK driving test to regain it.

 @phetphet 

Thank you for all the good advice.

I do have one good friend that I can totally trust and he has already helped me in the past with receiving my letter post as he lives very close to my house.

Next year if all goes to plan I will not have a house. My friend has a large family and usually very busy, I think he would continue to help but he is also thinking of downsizing to a smaller house.  

I have done a lot over many years to minimise my possessions, in todays digital world you don’t need many physical items. Next year I will be opening some new bank accounts while living in my house and getting it ready to sell, these banks will have no physical branches.

I will have no need for UK debit or credit cards, over the last few years I have only used my credit card to buy my house insurance.

Thanks a lot for your comment about Driving Licence, next year I will also renew it. Last time I renewed it online I used my UK credit card but I guess a bank transfer would be OK and I do intend to have a Wise card. Now thinking about I will not be concerned if I cannot renew my UK driving licence as I don’t intend to visit the UK after my house is sold. I also now have a Thai Driving Licence. So another item I not need 😊

I was aware of keeping a UK address with all my UK banks, mostly why I am doing this address planning. Thanks for the comment, I might ask my friend if he would mind me entering his address at a couple of banks.

Concerning your UK driving licence. I renewed mine while I was in Thailand a few years ago. I did it all online I think at  www.direct.gov.uk/DrivingLicence

DVLA processed it and sent me an email. At that time I had a UK address. I had no trouble at all but there might have been some automatic checks that I passed and you may not?  It might be worth you trying if you haven’t already.

13 minutes ago, topt said:

If you are going to have the mail forwarded to a friend in the UK why not just use Royal Mail Redirect? One price for the whole year no matter how few or many letters and you can keep it going for 4/5 years on the trot.

https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/redirection

 

£84 currently for 12 months

 

Thanks @topt  I have used Royal Mail Redirect in the past but they refused to continue after about 3 years. It might be possible to do it again but there will always be a time limit of them doing it and when that happens I will have to update to a new corrospondance address at my banks etc.

I am starting to like the thought of a permanent address at a mail forwarding company as long as it does not cost too much.

As my message above I am not sure what address these companies give you, what exactly they mean by virtual address. I have just send 3 messages to 3 different mail forwarding companies to ask.

I think I will use a mail forward company but at the moment am having difficulty fully understanding.

Concerning the UK address that they give you.

A “Street address” has been mentioned  or “A virtual address”.

I assume that they cannot give everyone an actual physical address, that would be totally unmanageable.

So what address do they give you? Some offer up to 10 different address locations. Let’s say we select Manchester. Do they give the same Manchester “Street address” to all their customers which is actually their office?

Then they sort all deliveries by the persons name?  Or maybe they give the same address to every customer but add a reference number at the end which is different for each customer.

Thanks for any help with this

Keith

10 hours ago, dayo202 said:

I been using ukpostbox.com for the past 8 years.

£12 for a UK address, plus extra for they service's 

 

Thank you  @dayo202  ukpostbox also looks good, and it helps to know that you have been using them for 8 years.

Cheers

Keith

1 hour ago, oliverphoenix2 said:

       I use Ghost Mail Limited,  GBP29 +VAT per year for a low user mail forwarding account + handling/posting fee per item. If you're forwarding to UK address it will cost much less per year than your example, even forwarding 1 item/month to Thailand will probably cost GBP150/year. I think the last debit card I had forwarded to Thailand was around GBP10, it depends on whether you want it tracked or not. They offer different subscriptions depending on your needs - google it for their website. 

 

        It will be cheaper if you have at least some stuff scanned and emailed to you. When they receive something for me (nothing so far this year) they email me and I instruct them what to do. I've been satisfied with their service over 4 years.

Thanks @oliverphoenix2

I have had a look and see what you mean. £29 per year then £2.50 per letter.

+ a min of 2 X £1.55 (Royal Mail large letter charge) if they forward the letter

Or if they scan and email is just 15p per side of paper then 20p for disposal.

All fees + VAT

So assuming I have 10 letters and have them all forwarded it would be £29 + £25+ £31 = £85+VAT = £102

As you write it will be less if I have some scanned and emailed.

Thanks again, it sounds good and is helping me decide what to do.

I am a UK male. I have no children or immediate family in the UK.

I bought my first house in the UK aged 21 then worked for 40 years in the UK, a very simple life.

Next year I plan to sell my UK house, so after that I will not have a UK address. I do have some friends who would say it’s OK to use their address for correspondence but I don’t like to impose too much, I think I am very independent.

I have been living in Thailand the last few years with my Thai gf /partner and love life here in Thailand.

It’s a new concept to me to not have an address in the UK!  I’m trying to come to terms with it and am about half way there. Sort of a planned no fixed abode as I now know that I want to spend the rest of my life in Thailand.

I haven’t started my UK state pension yet. For those that think I am planning to later deceive the DWP into thinking that I am still in the UK that is not the case, when I am receiving my state pension and I move permanently to Thailand I do not have a problem in informing them. Saying that I also have no moral judgement upon those that do not as freezing UK state pensions in one country and not another I think is unfair and wrong.

I have tried to go totally paper free but some UK banks and also some investments still insist on sending letter post.

I have done quite well as over the past 5 months I received just 5 letters in the post.

I am thinking of paying for a mail forwarding company for the initial few years after selling my house.

I did post in this forum on a different topic and had a suggestion of  https://www.myukpost.com/

It does look good but the prices are £20 per month + £1.50 per letter handled. Assuming 10 letters per year that would be £240+£15 = £255 per year.

I would not want any opening of letters or scanning done. I would instruct them just to send all letters to my friend in the UK.

I would like to find somewhere cheaper than the above. Ideally a place that someone has used and recommends?

Thank you

Keith

@Goodison Thank you very much for the information and the links.

8 hours ago, Goodison said:

@Keith5588  As you mentioned the NHS I am going to go off topic as you might not know the following. Vachira Government Hospital in Phuket was the first to open a Foreigner/VIP Office and was the model for the ones that followed in Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen. I use the one in Udon and the service is 810 THB. For that you wait in an a/c waiting room. They have PR ladies who speak English to assist you. They fast track you to see a Dr though you still got some wait. I spoke to the PR girls and they showed me a long list that is most of the Thai Health Insurance Companies that they can bill direct and of course as a rules of thumb government hospitals are a 1/3rd the cost if a standard private hospital. Also note Khon Kaen Houses Queen Siriket Heart Center which only gets great reports on here (I put a link to one thread below). Udon Thani also has the Government Cancer Hospital (I put a ASEANNOW thread where it gets a great report). I was there last week checking out for a friend who is thinking of coming up to get his prostrate cancer treated. It is more like a private hospital than government one. Some of the reception girls speak English.   The told me the cost is the same for foreigners as Thais. It has a new 6 story radiotherapy center. 2 of my wife’s friends work at one of the private hospitals and told me if any patients need RT they take them the government hospital and they also collect and cancer medicine from there. To get an idea on prices I asked about RT. Tye told me they have different machines and 4 types of RT and depends on what type and where the cancer is to which one you need. Anyway the costs did 30 sessions for the 4 types are 120,000, 160,000, 200,000, 240,000. I also put a link below if a Vid that shows the Foreign Customer/VIP office at Udon government hospital.

 

@Goodison  Thank you for the information below. I know it is off topic but I am very interested, if we write more maybe we should start another post something like “Views and experiences of Thai government hospitals compared to private hospitals”.

Aug 2017 when I came to Thailand I decided to self insure and not buy health insurance which is why I am interested. I also lived with my Thai gf in Khon Kaen for the first 4 years before relocating to Hua Hin 3 years ago so I can relate to what you are writing.

I do not have much first hand experience as I have been lucky and had no health problems apart from some very minor problems.

I was aware about the choice of paying a bit more as a foreigner at Hua Hin government hospital but you have explained more. If I do need to go to hospital I have had it in mind for a long time that I will go to Hua Hin government hospital and find out as much as I can. 

You said that you put a link that shows the Foreign Customer/VIP office at Udon government hospital but I cannot see the link?

6 hours ago, Goodison said:

@Keith5588 I watched Les Vid again he says his sub contacted the DWP and was told he would only get his pension unfrozen for he duration of the visit. Les then contacted the DWP and was told no He is right and the pension will be reset. The sub then contacted the DWP and was told the same as Les but they refused to give this in writing and the Sub is now in the Philippines. From other links on here including Mike Lister in a link who actually went back the UK passed a habitual resident test and got that in writing from the DWP that also informed him there is no set time period and it is about satisfying the DWP assessor that he had settled back in the UK with the intent to keep it as his main resident home.I found another article from the Daily Telegraph and put the link below,  saying much the same that you must have settled back in the UK to reset your state pension otherwise it will revert back to the previous frozen rate. It’s beyond me why you have to do this in the UK and only have to spend 185 days in a reciprocal Country with no intent of settling there or need to pass a habitual resident test. So we got some people at the DWP say you only get your pension unfrozen for the duration of the visit and others saying it resets your pension and nobody there who wil give any if this in writing.  

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/will-moving-back-to-the-uk-for-a-few-years-unfreeze-my-state-pension/ar-BB1qO60G?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1

Thank you @Goodison  I agree with you, if Les is correct it is very strange that you can just go to the Philippines for 185.

I think the guy Stephen worded the question well to the Telegraphs pensions doctor and the reply was good.
That article enforces what you have been saying.
It states that if you move from Thailand to the UK and make sure that DWP knows you are "ordinary resident" (which I believe is the same as habitually resident or permanent resident) then on return to Thailand (after changing your mind about staying in the UK) then your pension will be frozen at the higher current amount.
If however your visit to the UK is simply regarded as visiting with no intension of permanently staying (same I believe as spending 185 days in the Philippines) then on returning to Thailand your pension will revert to the origin lower frozen amount.
 

I have now also watched Les’s recent video again. Concerning the first “pause”, the person states that the International Pensions Centre will not reply in writing.

This does annoy me, when I write to them I will do my best to get the reply in writing, I cannot see how you can make important decisions without getting the facts in writing.

The next “pause” I found to be a bit confusing. Les also talks about speaking to DWP but the first guy contacted the International Pensions Centre.

The 3^rd “pause” I found totally irrelevant. The guy went to the Philippines Sept 2024 and has had his pension increased, nobody is disputing that this will happen?

Maybe I am being a bit petty, I think Les was always contacting the International Pensions Centre.

Hopefully we will eventually be confident of the facts.

I have learnt a lot from the messages in this post

6 hours ago, Goodison said:

@Keith5588  People do get caught and the link below tells about bloke who lives in Pattaya. At a minimum they want the over pay money back. Fines are between £350 & £5,000. They can stop or reduce your benefit up to 3 years and could criminally prosecute you. HMRC & DWP are joined at the hip and share info and if your caught HMRC are going to take a good look at you. We are living in an ever digital world and the UK & Thailand are both CRS Countries and if you want to know what info they share look up Common Reporting Standard WIKIPEDIA.

 

https://www.iexpats.com/cheating-expats-try-fiddle-pension-claims/

Thanks  @Goodison for your thoughts and the link. I do keep changing my mind, sorry for that.

Sometimes I think it best to say nothing, keep head down, act as if do not know much if questioned. I heard second hand of someone that went to the UK to have a knee operation. He opened his mouth too much telling them he was living in Thailand so he ended up paying for the operation.

To receive free NHS (which I think I should be entitled to as I worked long hours for 40 years) I am glad that I know what to say if ever asked.

Maybe it's a similar situation with the UK state pension.

I think it also depends a bit on age. I am currently 71, in about 15 years time I will be 86, probably find it difficult to remember what day it is, and couldn't care less about the DWP, and in practice even if I returned to the UK I could not imagine the DWP dragging an 86 year old into court for not informing them that they had travelled to another country! 

But basically I was raised to be totally truthful and feel uncomfortable if I am not. Also there might be awkward communication in the future if I feel the need to hide the fact that I am not living in the UK. Also as you point out DWP may find out themselves.

I also like to know. I spent a lot of time researching Thailand’s immigration requirements. It was worth it as I spend very little time at immigration, find them helpful, have never paid any “extra” and never used an agent ……….  And it makes me feel good!

So I would like to find out what would be needed to permanently increase a frozen UK state pension.

Concerning Les and his videos, myself, you and some others don’t think he is correct. But some other people think he is totally correct.

Hopefully we will get some information from Les in the future but if not I will probably try to get an answer sometime after March next year.

4 hours ago, Goodison said:

@Keith5588  Language is important and there is a difference between unfreezing and resetting. According to the Telegraph you only keep the unfrozen rate for the whole year if your pension is paid to a bank in the Philippines and you spend at least 183 days there but Les has doubled down and adamant that 185 days in a UK tax year and your pension is reset. All he has to support this is what he was told during a phone call with the DWP international pensions and what the guy in the Philippines is telling him.
 

 I watched Les Vid again and he says one subs grabbed the bull by the horns and contacted the DWP and flashed up the email saying pause and read and the guy said he asked the DWP international pensions about the 185 days and they told he would only get the unfrozen rate for the duration of the visit which according to the Telegraph would be true unless he was getting his pension paid into a Bank in the Philippines.

 

If Les is right I would have thought somewhere online you find somebody who has done it but nothing is there and the only guys who have unfrozen their pensions are those who went back to the UK and obtained Habitual Resident status which was confirmed by a letter from the DWP. 

Hi  @Goodison  I definitely thought along the same lines as you when I sent Les an email a few months ago suggesting that he could be wrong. If I was a holiday tour operator I would be organising 6 month holiday’s in the Philippines for UK retirees in Thailand who have frozen state pensions. Like you I would have thought that someone would have already done it and posted.

The truth is I am myself becoming a bit confused and so I intend to try to find out next year.

Saying that @BritManToo  has a good point in that it might be better to say nothing at all and be a bit ignorant to it all when it suits.

54 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My theory,

Best not to ask such questions, then if they catch you, you can plead ignorance rather than intent. The authorities have never asked me where I'm living, and I've never lied to them.

@BritManToo You make a good point, sometimes it is best to say as little as possible, leave it to them, after all we are old, at least I am. 

4 hours ago, Goodison said:

@Keith5588 I read that  Telegraph article before. Let’s break it down.

 

1) It says that if you spend 183 days in an unfrozen Country then for the rest of the time you can spend it in a frozen Country and still get the current rate for the whole year and any yearly increases BUT YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PENSION PAID TO THE UNFROZEN COUNTRY.

 

2) Where it asks what if I return to the UK and then leave again it gives the example of returning to the UK in 2024 and leaving 6 later in 2030 and says you will keep the 2030 rate but after 6 years how could the DWP say you have not been a Habitual Resident of the UK.

 

In the comments there are links that say returning British Citizen Expats have to apply for Habitual Resident status and that the decision will be sent to them by letter from the DWP but if they fail they can reapply when they think the meet the criteria. Also Mike Lister who showed the contents of his letter from the DWP were the DWP clearly stated there is no set period of time to establish habitual residence and it is about convincing the DWP assessment that you have settled back in the UK with the intent to stay and that you need to be classed as a habitual resident to reset your state pension so it doesn’t go back down and the same is said in other links. So with reference to the above is anybody confident that going to the Philippines for 185 days then returning to Thailand with no intention of returning to the Philippines that the DWP will freeze their pension at the current rate it was when they returned to Thailand. As I read they would say you was in the Philippines for over 183 days so you get the current rate for the rest of year then it goes back to the rate it was before you went the Philippines. 
 

Did Les actually ask it as once I done 185 days in the Philippines I will return to Thailand for good and will my pension be reset at the current rate and not go back down or did he ask along the lines of if I spend 185 days in the Philippines then return to Thailand will I keep the current rate. They are 2 very different questions.

 @Goodison   Thank you again.

Concerning your point 1) I actually intend to have my UK state pension paid into a UK bank even though I will be living in Thailand.

I agree with what you say at the bottom, I actually thought about that, which is why I mentioned in my starting post that the pension may stay high for the whole of the UK financial year and then revert to the lower level. The questions to DWP need to asked very clearly with no ambiguity and I will try to do that March next year.

So even if this guy returns to Thailand in December and states that his UK state pension has remained at the current higher amount it may still revert to the lower amount after 5 April 2025. Hopefully he will be informed if that will happen but not necessarily.

I plan to arrive in the UK March next year. I will then try to send my example to DWP or the International Pensions Centre. I will call the man in my example Fred. If their answer is £200 pw then I will ask other questions like.

1) Please confirm that while Fred is in the Philippines he only needs to be in the Philippines for the 185 days and that he does not need to apply for habitual residence?
2) What does Fred need to do and what information does he need to provide to satisfy you that he is living in the Philippines for 185 days?  What is the best way for Fred to provide this information? Can he email you?

3) Fred’s UK state pension has always been paid to a UK bank. Please confirm that it is OK for this not to be changed while he is in the Philippines.

Hopefully we will get there in the end 😊

Maybe Les in his Youtube is correct?

I have just had a look at this telegraph article written on 14th Aug 2024. I had to give my email address and form a password to read it.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions/state-pensions/what-is-frozen-state-pension-how-unfreeze-it/?ICID=continue_without_subscribing_reg_first 

Here is a copy of some parts:-

How can I unfreeze my state pension? 

If you move to a country eligible for state pension rises for more than 183 days a year, your state pension will “unfreeze” and jump to the amount you’d be entitled to if you’d stayed in an eligible country the whole time.

It will also start to increase annually with the triple lock. However, this cannot be backdated, so any money you missed out on when you didn’t live there is lost.

For example, if you get the full new state pension but left the UK in 2020, you’d still receive state pension payments of £168.60 a week (the rate it was in 2020). But, if you moved back to the UK, or to another country where uplifts are provided, your pension would be increased to £221.20 a week, the full rate for 2024-25. You wouldn’t receive anything for the increases you missed.

If you spend more than half the year in an eligible country, you’ll still get annual increases even if you spend the rest of the time in one that isn’t.

If you scroll down to the FAQ

What if I return to the UK and then leave again? 

When you return, your state pension will be topped up to the full level for the duration of your time in the UK – but it will freeze again at that rate when you leave.

For example, if you claimed your state pension in January 2020 and left the UK for a country not eligible for increases, it would be frozen at £168.60 a week. 

If you returned to live in the UK in 2024, you would start getting the current rate for 2024 to 2025, of £221.20. If you lived in the UK until 2030 and then left, your state pension would be frozen again at the 2030 rate. 

If you visited or came to the UK temporarily, you would get £221.20 rate until you left, when it would revert to the rate you were getting when you initially left – £168.60. 

33 minutes ago, Goodison said:

@Keith5588@Keith5588 

1) The guy who said he went the Philippines in June and will return December saying the he kept in touch with the DWP and who have told him he will keep the rate has had a few questions asked him under that comment and not answered any. That is not to say he won’t but I don’t see how he will unless he had the DWP recognize he was Habitually resident in the Philippines. Also the guy said he was told not got it in writing. 

 

2) Les keeps  mentioning the 185 day rule and you can’t find any reference to this supposed Rule anywhere. There is plenty for the 183 days or more in the UK in an April to April tax year makes you tax resident in the UK but in the Philippines it is 180 days in a Calendar year as their tax year is a Calendar year. There is also plenty you can find for claiming benefits and getting access to the NHS at no charge at point of use and that it is all dependent on wether you are a habitual resident or not and that there is no set time for losing or gaining habitual resident status and it is all down ti the DWP assessment.

 

3) The link below tells you all you need to know about unfreezing your pension when visiting the UK or a unfrozen Country. This tells you have to change your status from a visitor to something else to keep that new rate when you leave. I say that something else is Habitual Resident and for that there is no 185 day rule or any set time period. Add to this Mike Lister who has done it and posted the letter contents he got from the DWP clearly stating it was about being a Habitual Restaurant dent and not numbers of days in Country. 
 

 

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-10786301/Can-state-pension-unfrozen-visit-UK.html

 

Thanks again  @Goodison  Thank you for spending the time obtaining the information.

In the thisismoney article that you gave a link to it states the following

John Duffy is chair of the International Consortium of British Pensioners which runs the End Frozen Pensions campaign. He says:

Quite astonishingly, a 'frozen' state pensioner will find their UK state pension 'thawed' if they return to the UK, even if only for a short period.

Indeed, the pension is unfrozen during any visit to a list of 'unfrozen' countries, not just the UK.

This means that somebody could receive – for example - £46 in one week living in a 'frozen' country, visit the UK, where their weekly pension will be tripled, only for this to revert to the frozen rate when back in their country of residence.

This totally contradicts what Les is saying in his Youtube videos. I know it is not directly from DWP but it is in writing and from a person who should know.

2 hours ago, Goodison said:

1) The UK will have a digital border next year and know every time we leave and enter the Country.

 

2) Thailand is now a CRS Country and if you want to know what info they and HMRC will be sharing look up Common Reporting Standard WIKIPEDIA. Also note HMRC & DWP share info.

 

3) Tax residence in the UK is 183 days or more in a Tax year. For Habitual Residence there is no set time. The link below is about housing benefits but says what Habitual Residence is. It also says you can lose it in 1 day and the example given is if you move to another Country intending to stay there a long time. It also states there is no set time for obtaining Habitual Residency and that you have to pass a Habitual Residence Test that has no list of criteria other convincing the person doing the assessment that you are settled in the UK and now an Habitual Resident. Surely if you move to the Philippines you will have to pass Habitual Residence test for there for your state pension to be reset. The YTer though with no source he can quote other than what somebody at DWP told him on the phone is saying it is the 185 day Rule when no Rule exists and he is giving out misinformation. That is not to say that the DWP don’t have a guide line of 185 days but to reset the state pension is about achieving Habitual Resident status and I would want that on writing. 
 

https://www.housing-rights.info/habitual-residence-test.php

Thank you  @Goodison  

I tend to agree with you.  I think we may find out if Les is correct or not in the near future.

Les first posted a video about 8 months ago informing us that we could just go to the Philippines for 185 days to permanently increase frozen UK state pensions. To be fair he did state phone numbers of DWP and so made it easy for anyone to check for themselves.

 A few months after this first video I did email Les saying that I think he could be wrong. I had read a lot of a long post on the subject about 2 years ago, I won’t do that again!  I think it was mainly about a group of people from Canada actually travelling to the UK to help lobby the UK government concerning freezing of state pensions. I cannot remember exact details but I also cannot remember reading that there is a way to increase the frozen state pension to a current higher amount simply by staying in the UK 185 days. I am sure some on frozen UK state pensions travel to the UK to see family and could increase their length of stay, in fact I know a friend who has lived in Thailand for about 25 years did just that this year.

I find it hard to believe that Les is the only person to discover this loophole but I hope I am wrong.

In the last few days Les has doubled down and released another video on this subject.

One person commented that they followed Les’s suggestion and went to the Philippines in June and will return to Thailand in December and they have contacted DWP who said that they will keep the updated payment on their return to Thailand.

For me this could be ambiguous, it could mean that the person will keep the higher payments that they received while in the Philippines, it does not necessarily mean that they will continue to receive the higher payments. You have to be so careful.  

I have enjoyed watching some of Les’s Youtube video’s and I believe that his intention is honourable in wanting to help people, and of course he may be right.

17 hours ago, Marvo said:

As another example of UK Gov't practice, my (Thai) wife is currently on the five-year route to getting Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. For the entire 5 yr period we have to supply evidence supporting the case that she is living and "habitually resident" in the UK. They have long since removed any "183 days" or "more than 6 months in a calendar year" criteria and replaced it with the "habitually resident" requirement. They are asking for 6-12 joint/individually addressed utility/bank/gov't correspondences evenly spread over the 5 years. So, we can assume the DWP will be equally fastidious when ascertaining "habitual residency" for re-linking state pension entitlements.

Thanks for the information @Marvo

20 hours ago, Chivas said:

Well frankly that decision over uprated state pension awards will be shortly null and void anyway

 

As per the other thread over new Taxation issues Thailand has joined earlier this year the reporting group which reports back to your home countries tax office monies that sit in Thai accounts and usage of such

 

DWP will have little difficulty in assessing in short order who should be getting it and should not......

 

State Pension is not sanctionable though despite what people think or claim and its on the DWP website (I was also very surprised)

 

As its unlikely you're living overseas solely on state pension they'll still get their pound of flesh back though somehow but if you are they can do nothing about recovering back payments

@Chivas Thank you for the very good information. 

15 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Leave your address at your existing home. They won't check if you live there or not and your credit check at that address will still be good, if you offer no new UK address.

I've done that, it it's worked for the past 16 years.

@BritManToo    thanks. I was wondering if I could just leave my UK address as it is with DWP. I guess it depends if DWP etc do send out letters and the reaction of the new owners of my house.

I will decide after I find out more concerning mail forwarding costs.

Also thanks for the Skype UK landline information, I will also look into that.

I know I am going off topic myself, maybe I should start another post of something like “All actions to take in the UK before moving permanently to Thailand”

I have had a problem with Nationwide Building Society. About 4 years ago they had some sort of update that removed all my payee’s. Since then I have not been able to form a new payee without my debit card + card reader. I can login online and I have sent secure messages but all they do is apologise. I have a card reader but my friend in the UK has my debit card. He would send the card to me and even offered to synchronise so I get the OTP but luckily I have moved enough money into my Thai bank to last until I am in the UK. Probably I could take it higher up in Nationwide but then I think I would have to give them all sorts of information that I live permanently in Thailand.

So I will be opening some of the newer online banks like Starling, Chase, Monzo etc. and have my state pension paid to one of them.

16 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Just sign up to a UK mail forwarding company a few months before you move and all will be well.  Do not wait until you have left!!!

Here is a very reliable one; Mail Forwarding | Mail Scanning | Mail Redirection | Mail Address

 

PS;  Also make sure you get at least two pay as you go UK sim cards before you leave. Preferably with at least 4-6 months non use validity.  Do your homework now!

@scottiejohn    thanks for the mail forwarding link and the good advice. This is one thing that I will now give thought to.

I have prepared well for going to the UK except for mail forwarding. I have a very good friend who has been scanning my mail and emailing to me. I have done as much as I can to stop letter post and have just had a look and I only received 17 letters over the last 1 year. It should be even less after I sort a few things when in the UK.

This was my dilemma, do I pay for Mail forwarding for such few letters?

But I am now going to think seriously about it again.

Concerning PAYG SIM cards I have already made a note to do as you suggest.

I am now 71 and sometimes forget things so for our holidays with my Thai gf, we have been together 24/7 for the last 7 years and get along well, I have been lucky, I make plans in a WORD file.  For my UK trip I have made 8 WORD files “Selling my house”  “Decorating my house”, “Actions” etc.

I bought a Vodafone PAYG SIM over 7 years ago before coming to Thailand, without it I would have had problems accessing my bank accounts. Twice I have been worried when it stopped working even in a different phone, luckily a good clean of the SIM card fixed it. So yes I will make sure I have 2 or 3 PAYG SIM cards. I would even buy an eSIM but my phones do not have eSIM capability and I don’t think I will be buying  a new phone just for that.