Chomper Higgot

Buying extra state pension is a very smart move, the return in investment is extremely good, you only need live four or five years to get full return, it’s gravy every year after that.

Normal financial advice doesn’t consider people retiring to a country where they have zero social wage, no free health care, no free prescriptions, no welfare assistance etc. Also, while an assumption I believe in very many cases the tax free lump sum will be spent pretty quickly in Thailand, often on real estate that the expat has tenuous control over. For retirement in Thailand my personal recommendation is maximize pension income and minimize assets that are not under your own direct control. Opinions do of course differ.

But you will already have taken your 25% tax free allowance, so all your pension payments will be fully taxed. If your reason is to save tax paid take a very close look at that. As a general rule, you need the highest income you can obtain from your pensions when retiring to Thailand. Unless you are very careful with how you spend your pension the lump sum will disappear pretty quickly. I’m not saying don’t take the 25% lump sum, rather think about it very carefully. I personally would not take any cash lump sum from a DB scheme, DC is a different matter.

No, you are getting nothing. The pension changes are a tax break for people with pension pots over £1,073,100 and those who can afford to put £60,000 per year into their pensions. The tax free allowance has been frozen again this year at £12,570. So help for the already wealthy and nothing for those on low incomes.

Trump step aside? He will take the GOP down with him rather than step aside.

They need to introduce them in the Uk, hers of fear are becoming a common sight in many rural areas, they are a real risk to road users.

Started searching. I’m suspect they didn’t stop. To start a search they would need reason to do so.

Just wait until environmental change driven migration kicks in. You’ll love it.

But it would provide a verifiable legal basis for return. Rather than the proposed (illegal) blanket refusal to consider asylum applications on a case by case basis.

Evidence to back your assertion please.

They are linked. The extreme rightwing behind Brexit is now ranting about migrants … again.

Yes, that would be a good idea. It’s why refugee rights organizations have been arguing for the UK to provide options to apply for asylum outside the UK. My prediction is the ‘detention center’ the Tories are funding with UK tax payer’s money will be converted to an asylum creating center once the UK has replaced the Tories with a rational Government.

Ten years ago the hot ‘illegal immigrant’ topic was the channel tunnel. Brexit is coincident with the surge in cross channel migration, it is not a historical event, it’s impacts are present every day.

As I’ve often said, the impact of too many post war black and white movies is still recognizable amongst many rightwing Brits. Once again, the collapse of UK immigration controls is entirely the fault of the Tories, now in Government continuously for over twelve years. Absolutely nothing to do with Labour. Of course, you might be so far out of touch not to realize that, so I’ll not mock you for your apparent ignorance of the facts.

I’m not dismissing cross channel immigration, far from it. I’ve frequently stated it’s out of control and unacceptable that it had been allowed to become the mess it is. You mention shambles, I guess three PMs in a matter of months, u-turns by the dozen and resorting to policies that break the law is exactly what can be described as a shambles. The immigration mess the UK is facing is entirely the fault of the Tory Government, and absolutely nothing to do with Labour who haven’t been in power for over 12 years.

I didn’t even mention rubber boats I said ‘illegal immigration’. I take it from your answer you don’t have any evidence of the last Labour Government loosing control of illegal immigration. This Tory Government certainly has.

My lot? But since you mention the Labour Party, can you provide evidence that ‘illegal immigrant ion’ was out of control the last time the Labour Party was in power?

No it hasn’t been a home goal for the BBC. It’s exposed Tory Party Political interference in the BBC, the exact opposite of your constant claims of left wing bias. And it’s not over yet, not by a long way.

You’ve quoted an opinion from a rightwing TALKRadio presenter, an organization owned by the rightwing Rupert Murdoch who has a track record of running ‘News organizations’ that twist or lie about the truth. It is entirely reasonable to question the source of such ‘opinions’. Though thanks for giving a pearl into the echo chamber into which you go looking for ‘opinions’.

I’m looking forward to PMQ today.

When I first came to work in Thailand foreigners were not permitted a Thai driver’s license or to own cars without individual sponsorship from a Government ministry, I got mine from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Back then if you saw a foreigner driving they were either Embassy staff, UN personnel or worked for one of a handful of MNCs. A foreigner driving a car back then was a rare sight and received next level courtesy and very rarely anything but a salute from traffic cops. Things change and they have done.

Michael Cohen has been invited back for a second day of Testimony this Wednesday. I’m quite sure he’s loving it.

He’s not a defendant until he indicted and at trial before a court of law.

All you need to know is Transgender people are people. Human beings deserving the same rights as anyone else. Start from there, you won’t go far wrong.

‘Good publicity for Brexiteers’ Lousy publicity for Brexit. Even worse publicity for over twelve years of failed Tory Government. …….. From your link: ”Seaborne crossings aboard small boats by would-be refugees and migrants were rare before November 2018.[2][3] More commonly, they stowed away aboard trains, lorries or ferry boats, a technique that has become more difficult in recent years as British authorities have intensified searches of such vehicles.” So one again you are being disingenuous. Migration through the channel tunnel, a cross channel route, is not included in your link even though the switch in migration method has been from stowing aboard lorries, to traveling in small boats.