Tofer

On 3/25/2022 at 7:57 PM, billd766 said:

The pension that you get today takes into account of how much NI contributions you paid in and the date when you retire. 

It's not now calculated against how much you paid, it's simply the number of years you contributed. Now the pension is called a basic pension, i.e. levelled for everyone, so any serps you may have earned from an above average earned income have been discounted entirely, much to my annoyance.

On 3/25/2022 at 7:45 PM, starky said:

This is like the yanks whingeing because thier embassy wouldnt immediately airlift doses of mrna vaccines ro vaccinate them during early  covid days.

  Heres the bottom line. If you want all the benefits of living wherever your home country happens to be. Dont become an expat. Not hard.

  Once you never longer live in your home country obviously you forfeit any benefits that come along with that. 

You're obviously not reading, or comprehending the comments. It's not a benefit, it's a contracted National Insurance contributory scheme.

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

The online option is not available for claims made for non-residents. If I recall access to the online form is not possible from overseas.

You can complete the digital application, wherever you're resident, provided they have sent you the access code to your account for registration.

On 3/25/2022 at 7:41 PM, Gottfrid said:

Just try Bitcoin when it was new.

That's not an investment, it's gambling on a pyramid scheme.

On 3/25/2022 at 7:33 PM, Will B Good said:

Anyone know?

 

I still have property back in the UK......if I 'live in it' for 30 days a year I understand I am still resident in the UK and therefore entitled to annual pension increases......correct????

To be deemed normally resident, you have to live there 6 months of the year.

However, before I departed, I looked into the benefits of becoming non-resident, in particular respect to CGT avoidance, from the potential sale of my properties in UK, in the days before that loophole was sidelined.

I found that if you have any item of clothing held in any UK property, be it your own or someone elses, and you visit that property and stay overnight / one night, you are automatically deemed resident for tax purposes. Maybe that's changed now, I've not bothered to check since there's no benefit whatsoever from declaring non-resident.

On 3/25/2022 at 7:08 PM, hughrection said:

Invest 60 GBP a month into what exactly to give you a livable return in say 15 years from now!

Fine, if you can live on 4 - 8 pounds a week. Do the calculations and see the futility of your suggestion, considering annuity returns.

On 3/25/2022 at 6:42 PM, Baht Simpson said:

To my mind there is no real excuse for denying expats any increases. It's discrimination pure and simple and the only reason they've done it is because they can get away with it. 

 

It's not a gift from the government it's a contract between government and the people, who contribute via National Insurance and Income Tax for a certain specified number of years to qualify for the agreed pension plus any relevant increases. Those increases are then arbitrarily taken away based solely on residency and not contribution or need. 

 

There is no moral excuse for this.

Totally agree.

When I wrote to the DWP to ask why, they sent a link to the gov. pension rules, aka small print, that had never, prior to the internet, been made readily available to contributors, nor was it ever optional for UK employees and businessmen.

When I asked again for justification, guess what?, no reply.

On 3/25/2022 at 5:59 AM, Gottfrid said:

Just to skip the petition. Sure, British pensioners are not a strain on health care or other services. However, they neither inject their money in the country that gives it to them. So, there we have the reason. And then, crying about a raise of 5,55 pound per week? That´s not very sophisticated. That´s not to be called a raise. Such things are know under the name of weekly disgraces.

They "injected" their money when paying NI contributions, just like anybody else.

It's not about a single increase of 5 pounds a week, you also need to consider the pensioners who have had no increases for decades.

1 hour ago, tonray said:

10 year 'Overstay" Visa only costs 20,000 baht plus air ticket on exit. No 90 day, no TM30, no visits to IO...I plan on getting one when I'm about 75...

You might also end up with a free extension to stay at the Bangkok Hilton....

21 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Thanx but I do not intend for my money to outlive me, I am going to do whatever I can to spend it all before I tap out.      Peace

I wish I had your crystal balls, to predict the end.....

On 1/19/2022 at 8:19 AM, HAPPYNUFF said:

Unless I have misunderstood,    you need to front up 100,000 baht, being      10,000 baht  for  each of ten years.  Im Ok with that, to a degree,  as     people who  presently use an agent pay more than that per year.  But  what happens at the end of ten years, assuming  one is  still in the land of living..."Get out now farang, times up" ????

Do you also worry about about being kicked out every year, when you turn up for your annual visa extension? 

On 1/18/2022 at 9:43 PM, tomacht8 said:

Whatever the outcome is, one thing is for sure: a mountain of paper copies and a multitude of officials digging through the mush, each making their own rules.

But only twice in 10 years....

On 1/18/2022 at 9:02 PM, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

less than 28 baht a day.

 

Peanuts.

Less than B18 / day MORE than the standard 1 year multi entry / exit visa extension, and further savings on trips for 90 day reporting. Probably works out cheaper in the long run for people some distance from their nearest Immigration office.

On 1/18/2022 at 8:18 PM, cheapcanuck said:

There would need to be some juicy nuggets in that visa to get people to buy into it. 5 year visa with a 5 year extension is not that nugget.

Besides, in the land of the flip flop, who would be crazy enough to get a visa that will be cancelled or altered two years in?

I can hardly see it being cancelled retrospectively, for existing visa holders over the originally agreed term.

Go to Malaysia and see what they've done for the MM2H visa, if you think Thailand is bad.

On 1/18/2022 at 8:52 PM, Paulaew said:

The story didn't have any details on re-entry permits, but the reporting was annually rather than every 90 days. (If they can do that for them, why not for us?)

 

Paul Laew

Because you're on a 1 year visa extension and not a premium 10 year long term resident visa. People are complaining there's no point to it, but you've just highlighted one benefit.

On 1/18/2022 at 8:15 PM, Chelseafan said:

So 10 years max for pensioners? What then ?

Nice headline but as always lacking detail....

 

Where does it say "max"?

You can apply for up to 10 years, presumably per application. It doesn't say you're limited to one application in your lifetime.

Depending upon the requirements for certification, I don't see how this is an inferior option to the standard 1 year extension with 90 day reporting, or the Elite visa at a considerably higher price. Assuming it would be multi entry /exit, then it's little more than double the annual visa extension based on retirement or marriage at B10,000 /ann.

6 hours ago, Agusts said:

I also have Pireli Angel Scooter on my old 2016 Forza, good tires for the price...

 

Go to a big bike shop, forget Honda, check that they have the proper machine for tire changing , 1)- If they use a big ranch or screwdriver to take tires off they can damage and scratch the wheels, 2)- also they must balance the wheels - Forza can do 130+kph , it's not a small scoot, need a proper balance...

 

Also ask them to call and order the tire for you from their supplier, their price is usually competitive and mostly includes installation and balance - well worth it...

 

But wait there and ask them to call the supplier and confirm the dates on the tires, shouldn't be more than a year old, otherwise maybe try to find a newer ones - if buying from Lazada also ask the dates....

 

Finally, be very careful on first 100km on new tires, I was lucky didn't go down coming out of the garage right after the tire change, slipped really badly but survived...! 

 

Thanks for all the sound advice.

On 12/17/2021 at 6:35 PM, jackdd said:

Pirelli Angel Scooter

Good tires and more easy to find a shop that has them because Pirelli is more common than Michelin

Also a darn sight cheaper. Best prices I found for Michelins are nearly B4,000 the pair, but Pirelli are less than B1,700 for the pair, online at Lazada.

Is the difference for the name or the quality?

On 12/17/2021 at 6:35 PM, jackdd said:

Pirelli Angel Scooter

Good tires and more easy to find a shop that has them because Pirelli is more common than Michelin

Thanks.

I'm of to Krabi tomorrow, so will check and see what's in stock. 

I found the Michelins on Lazada, but not sure my local Honda can balance them.

When I changed my car tires, the trader could only do a wheel balance at low speed, as their machine wasn't capable of high speed testing.

Having just discovered the tires on my new (6 months old) Honda Forza 350 are total rubbish, wearing unevenly after only 2,000kms, and causing steering shake and distinct lack of confidence, I'm now looking for replacements.

I've found a well regarded "Michelin City Grip 2" tire, and wondered if any bikers on here have had them in use to be able to pass comment, and / or have any other brand recommendations.

On 12/5/2021 at 11:00 AM, simple1 said:

OK. Definitely was the case when I was on Koh Mak, never been bitten on Koh Chang, probably a time of year scenario. Never been bitten in Krabi region, for me the best day beaches were the small offshore islands near Ao Nang. Best to check with the likes of Tripadvisor on timing for sand flies. I personally get a bad reaction with the bites.

I do too. I was chased down the Bamboo beach by a cloud / swarm of them in March 2003, and had to jump in the sea to avoid being eaten alive.

I agree it is probably seasonal and I heard say some areas of Koh Chang didn't get bothered. It might even have been cleared up since then.

On 1/1/2021 at 7:10 PM, scammed said:

the public looking at baby turtles do more good then harm,

and also gives joy to the blessed that see it

Agree. I was blessed to have camped on Ras Al Had beach in Oman, many years ago, during turtle hatching season. We had the place to ourselves and watched, close up, the mothers laying eggs, and the hatchlings made a beeline to our camp fire, where we collected them in a box and deposited them in the sea, thus avoiding being eaten by foxes.

On 8/22/2020 at 12:49 PM, simple1 said:

isn't Koh Mak infested with sandflies, was when I was there, departed after the first day

I never had that problem in Koh Mak, only Koh Chang, where they sold the protective / treatment oil at the hotel check in.

On 8/22/2020 at 11:22 AM, Tayaout said:

I swimmed at both Cha Am and Hua Hin but you can't compare with south Thailand! Cha Am feels more Thai than Hua Hin and both are decent option from Bangkok. However Koh Mak and surrounding islands are much better.

 

If it's for living then south thailand is much better for beachs! However some spot can get crowded and they did not figured out how to put a muffler on their boat.

 

I plan to go to Koh Phi Phi for the first time next month since it's probably a once of a lifetime chance to visit without tourists. 

I live on the sea front in Koh Lanta, and that is one of my main gripes - silencers on boats, or more correctly, the absence thereof! I love to see the boats and the way of life, but the noise can sometimes be ear splitting.

Considering I have to have my boat inspected and properly labelled, kitted out with life vests, etc. for the annual registration (fund raising), it beggers belief that these long tail fishing boats can get away without silencers.

However, as usual, stupidity reigns, since these fishermen are seriously damaging their hearing, and that of their children who tag along when schools out.

On 4/21/2021 at 7:18 AM, EVENKEEL said:

That's pretty much the price in Rayong area near the beach. DD property is a good starting point for prices.

You can buy my landscaped land on the sea front in Koh Lanta for that price, Bt.6M/rai for 2.5 rai, providing you buy the villa that sits on it as well. ????

Considering, the second bridge is on it's way, that's cheap....