OJAS

Equally true of HMPO in the case of the ridiculous rules which its top management has set on passport renewals from Thailand IMHO.

Unlikely that they do. If you open the following link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-do-after-a-british-person-dies-in-thailand it provides a comprehensive list of what needs to be done following the death of a Brit in LOS, but appears to place the responsibility for ensuring that everything necessary is done (including regarding pensions) squarely on the shoulders of the deceased Brit's next-of-kin.

What I have done, though, when witnessing others' life certs as a retired civil servant, is to enter my NI number in the stamps box.

Certainly trackable as far as Wolverhampton. But its ultimate destination is, however, located in Newcastle upon Tyne!

Or maybe from you if you're deemed to be the "housemaster" or "possessor of residence" under the terms of your tenancy agreement.

The issues here are that we have one part of HMG (in the form of the DWP) unfairly denying State Pensioners living in Thailand entitlement to annual "triple-lock" increases, and another (in the form of HMRC) rubbing salt into the wound by seeking to tax some of them as if they were in receipt of these increases. Clear evidence, I think, that the concept of "joined-up government" back in the UK (such as this ever existed even in the Tony Blair era) is nowadays completely dead in the water - with each component part of HMG now seemingly acting under strict orders to confine its activities to matters which fall strictly within the purview of its particular silo, with blinkers firmly attached so as to prevent any "undesirable" sideways glances into adjoining areas.

Or alternatively do what I do and check the 2 items in the SA100 form stating that I don't want HMRC to recover through my tax code any extra tax due because of the State Pension, but instead make direct on-account and balancing payments to them based on the SP figure which I reported at item 8 under the Income heading.

In that case it is IMHO simply not fit for purpose. In exactly the same way as HMPO's passport renewal online facility is not fit for purpose as we're not allowed to use it from Thailand.

Does beg the question, though, as to why they've (at long last) bothered to make a form available online, which we're not, though, supposed to use until their paper docs finally turn up in our mailboxes after their magical mystery tours of European sorting offices!

Agree 100%. IMHO the Government Gateway, to which quite a few of us may already be subscribed in order to check State Pension info (if not for filing tax returns to HMRC), should be able to provide us (with minimal modification) with a sufficiently secure means of proving that we are still in the land of the living for State Pension purposes every now and then.

Actually they do have one now - a fillable PDF, to boot, for both customer and witness sections! https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67160776e94bb9726918ee90/Life_Certificate.pdf Still need to get it printed off, signed and sent to the UK by snail mail, though, unfortunately.

Apparently the same people who can countersign passport applications - as if life certificates are just as valuable and important as passports! Really?? Thankfully, my occupational pension provider is nowhere near as fussy as to who can perform this "onerous" responsibiity. Last time in their case I simply got my mother-in-law to perform the honours.

Maybe true of HMRC, but certainly not of their pals in DWP who are responsible for the Life Certificate bureaucratic nonsense to which we are periodically subject!

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67160776e94bb9726918ee90/Life_Certificate.pdf

Looks to me like the lion's share of the £500m in question relates to deceased pensioners who lived in the UK, and who, unlike us, were not subject to the Life Certificate bureaucratic nonsense!