OJAS

In other words, alienate a significant part of their customer base in exactly the same way as SCB and KTB have done. 😟

The big mystery as far as I am concerned is why the IPC use a Wolverhampton mailing address when their offices are located in Newcastle-upon-Tyne! In particular, once the fresh life certificates which we're all dutifully having witnessed at the present time have been received at Wolverhampton, do they then need to be physically transported onwards to Newcastle-upon-Tyne before the IPC can process them?

On the basis of section G it would appear that this refund would take the form of a GBP cheque which HMRC would then despatch to the beneficiary widow by snail mail. Another shining example of HMRC being really at the cutting edge of secure electronic technology, is it (not)?!! More seriously, though, is the note stating that "it’s sometimes not possible to cash British pound payments overseas" - which, I suspect, could be problematical here in Thailand. Would be nice, I think, if HMRC could proactively tell our widows how they would be able to receive their refunds instead.

Whilst this is, indeed, the case provided that the amounts involved do not total more than the UK personal allowance (currently £12,570) as already said, it would appear that her widow's pensions might, however, be deemed assessable income for Thailand taxation purposes, because of Article 19(2) of the UK/Thailand Double Taxation Agreement, which states: (2) (a) Any pension paid by the Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to any individual in respect of services of a governmental nature rendered to that State or subdivision or local authority thereof shall be taxable only in that State. (b) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other contracting State if the recipient is a national of and a resident of that State. But, given your subsequent statement that the amounts involved won't exceed the current UK personal allowance, she might not, in practice, have to pay any tax in Thailand either because of the various allowances and exemptions currently in force. That all said, things could, of course, change at both UK and Thailand ends between now and when your wife claims her widow's pensions!

Given that many of my fellow Brits get their perpetually frozen UK State Pensions paid into their Thai bank accounts through Citibank, I wonder whether any of them might be in for a pleasant surprise when their next payments are due?! 🤑

This sounds to me like a temporary tax code provided by the Scottish Police pension providers for the widow and HMRC to use. This would be consistent with what MyCSP told me in connection with my Civil Service pension in January. That said, what, if anything, might then happen in the longer term remains a mystery.

Meaning, "there is only one solution, Hitler's final one".

I strongly suspect that only DWP will be able to answer your questions definitively. I suggest that you contact their International Pensions Centre through the enquiry form linked below: https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/contact-the-international-pension-centre/contact-form

A distinct improvement on the rigmarole I had to go through 10 years ago, when I was required to submit my original birth certificate which then went AWOL!

Which in my book is tantamount to an expression of deep regret at Hitler's failure to fully implement The Final Solution.

Likely for copyright reasons: https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/bbcstudios/2005/bbc-studios-to-make-podcasts-available-to-international-audiences-via-bbc-dot-com-and-the-bbc-app It will, however, still be possible to listen to the World Service and Radio 4 from abroad via the following link instead: https://www.bbc.com/audio and scroll to bottom. It may also be possible to continue listening to remaining BBC stations from abroad (should one be so inclined) with a VPN - but that remains to be seen, I suspect.

Indeed, he would run the risk of getting banged up in the Bangkok Hilton (or local equivalent)!

And, while you're about it, are you also planning to send an email to all relevant authorities and media outlets back in your home country bitterly complaining about a number of negative measures which your home country government may have seen fit to impose on its expats living in Thailand in recent years (of which there are quite a fair few in the case of us Brits, for instance, believe you me!)?

The BKKB mobile app was, in my experience, a PITA in both setting up and using before I unceremoniously dumped it.

Or Brighton or Bournemouth who both have home EPL fixtures on 2, 12 & 26 April?