If your a Brit living in Thailand please advise about the Uk pension

[ghworker2010]

I read this article:

 

https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/aussies-given-an-extension-to-apply-for-a-british-pension-20180323-p4z5y3.html

 

In the article OP says ''we had until April this year to make additional national insurance contributions at the old rate to ensure access to a British state pension, before the cost would almost double.''

 

Im antipodean and worked 10yrs in the Uk and finished up there in 2006- best yrs of my life to be honest... I worked via limited companies most of the time but think that I was making N.I contributions. 

 

I haven't been back since 2006 and live in Thailand now. Based on all this do I have any hope of getting a U.k state pension when reaching retirement age? Im fast approaching 50 yrs old

 

Any advice is appreciated as I didn't understand the bulk of that article. 

 

thanks

Edited March 26, 2018 by ghworker2010

[MaeJoMTB]

You can only claim 1 government pension.

As an Australian, they collect any British pension entitlement on your behalf and keep it.

Some people have managed to keep quiet and have both, but it's naughty.

 

I'd forget about topping up the British, if you're expecting to claim the Australian.

[ghworker2010]

1 hour ago, MaeJoMTB said:

You can only claim 1 government pension.

As an Australian, they collect any British pension entitlement on your behalf and keep it.

Some people have managed to keep quiet and have both, but it's naughty.

 

I'd forget about topping up the British, if you're expecting to claim the Australian.

im not going to claim one back there

[JohnC]

Contact the UK Gov pensions 

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/what-youll-get

 

give them your National Insurance Number and they will advise you accordingly. 

[nanglong218]

I think it's 36 years for a full pension, fixed once claimed.   Pro rata surely if you paid in.  

[trd]

I went through this recently. You will have to register on the pension website and then complete an online form. In terms of identification this is crucial. Do you know what your registered address was in the UK for tax purposes and payment of National Insurance contributions.

[rak sa_ngop]

10 hours ago, nanglong218 said:

I think it's 36 years for a full pension, fixed once claimed.   Pro rata surely if you paid in.  

Not sure where this 36 year figure comes from, but from my web searches of govt web sites the figure is still 35 qualifying years for a full pension. The minimum is 10 years. If you grew up in the UK and went through tertiary education (university, college etc) you will probably find that these years have been included so you may have more years than you think.

 

Get registered on the UK Govt website and find out how many qualifying years you have. Then look at your options for topping up. Gets more complicated here with Class 2 and Class 3 contributions, plus ongoing changes in policy.

 

Do it now!

[shaurene]

I am in New Zealand. I receive NZ & British pensions.

 

i receive roughly three quarters full UK pension as I did not have the max stamps needed for full pension. It gets paid into my bank account. I am entitled to full NZ pension, but the amount of UK pension I get is deducted off the NZ person.

i have a mate living in Thailand Khon Kaen and he gets his UK pension directly into his Thai bank account.

 

 

[Iem]

Your old P45 from UK would have your NI number which is vital inf . You can pay backwards up to six years but you'll be pushing it to get that done before the April   cut-off for the current price . Get onto the pensions website  (given in an above answer )ASP with as much information you can muster to identify yourself if you cannot locate your NI number - you should have had an NI number card at one time but no doubt that has ;long gone . You could try contacting the pay office of your old UK work place - if it still exists as another , possibly easy way , to get it if you're lucky .

[trd]

The NI number isn't enough. If you don't know what your UK registered address was for tax purposes you will have big problems. As I've been here for 20 years my address was 10 years before that for the tax office and I couldn't remember what it was and they couldn't go any further with it until I found an old letter that jogged my memory and I gave them that and all was well. It took a couple of months after the online submission but the pension was fully backdated to my 65th birthday.

[Able]

The UK government website says 30 years:

 

Quote:

To get the full basic State Pension you need a total of 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits.

 

It also provides access to process to effectively back pay missing payments during the past 6 years if you, like me, are a few years short of the 30 year requirement.

[GarryP]

6 minutes ago, Able said:

The UK government website says 30 years:

 

Quote:

To get the full basic State Pension you need a total of 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits.

 

It also provides access to process to effectively back pay missing payments during the past 6 years if you, like me, are a few years short of the 30 year requirement.

Only about 28 years to make up my missing payments.  Should be easy. 

[nglodnig]

20 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

You can only claim 1 government pension.

As an Australian, they collect any British pension entitlement on your behalf and keep it.

Some people have managed to keep quiet and have both, but it's naughty.

 

I'd forget about topping up the British, if you're expecting to claim the Australian.

Is this one government pension some sort of international law? Because I am in a similar situation with large contributions in two countries

[lagavulin1]

13 minutes ago, nglodnig said:

Is this one government pension some sort of international law? Because I am in a similar situation with large contributions in two countries

Ive been getting standard UK for 9 months.I'd worked in Germany for 12 years, all stamped.

Germany offered me a pension which was granted in Dec 2017. I had declared my UK pension to them.

It could be that Im getting 2 EU pensions but conceivably they have prorated the entitlements.

[MaeJoMTB]

40 minutes ago, nglodnig said:

Is this one government pension some sort of international law? Because I am in a similar situation with large contributions in two countries

Australia consider the pension a means tested benefit, so they deduct income from other sources.

Dunno about anywhere else.

[KNJ]

10 years minimum, 35 years for full SP.

Log onto the website you will need NI number and your number in Thailand where they will send an access code, takes about 10 minutes.

You can get a forecast

You can only pay class 2 if UK was the last place you worked if not then class 3 apply, much more expensive but still good value.

The UK Gov are trying to stop class 2 so if you can pay these it is very worthwhile, do it and do it now.

What is your age? you can still pay if you are under retirement age ( also get the date when you can draw your pension )

Every year  you delay taking any SP you can claim the pension will go up by about 5.6 per cent

Bear in mind also that if in Thailand you will not get inflation increments ( unlike Philippines )

Good luck, find that NI number and jump on it quick. 

[topt]

1 hour ago, Able said:

The UK government website says 30 years:

 

Quote:

To get the full basic State Pension you need a total of 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits.

 

It also provides access to process to effectively back pay missing payments during the past 6 years if you, like me, are a few years short of the 30 year requirement.

Slightly misleading - depending on when you were born you may have to claim the "New State Pension".

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

 

and depending on your contributions you will be told you will get paid under whichever scheme pays you more........

 

and of course any "opting out" during your periods of payment means further reductions.......

 

You really do need to talk to an advisor.

[Iem]

Brown introduced the 30 year rule for full pension to encourage Europeans  to go to UK to work . It was changed to 35 years a few years later ( it was 40 years to qualify when I did it ). If you give a UK home address and better still be in UK when you claim and then don't tell them if you emmigrate you can continue to get the annual increases for a while . ( Eventually you have to complete a form stating you are still alive - that pins you down )

[jamie2009]

Slightly off topic, if you are Non Resident you are not entitled to the annual increases on your UK State Pension.

i have been researching and can’t find the criteria for Non Residency, I have my own property in the UK, in receipt of the State Pension plus a Private Pension. 

I am classed as resident for income tax but not for free NHS treatment but can’t find what the residency status is to receive the annual increases on my State Pension. To receive the Winter Fuel Allowance you only have to be in the UK for a certain date, about a week in September..

[dave moir]

12 hours ago, rak sa_ngop said:

Not sure where this 36 year figure comes from, but from my web searches of govt web sites the figure is still 35 qualifying years for a full pension. The minimum is 10 years. If you grew up in the UK and went through tertiary education (university, college etc) you will probably find that these years have been included so you may have more years than you think.

 

Get registered on the UK Govt website and find out how many qualifying years you have. Then look at your options for topping up. Gets more complicated here with Class 2 and Class 3 contributions, plus ongoing changes in policy.

 

Do it now!

If you don't pay contributions up until you retire you don't get full pension as I have just found out 

[meatboy]

10 hours ago, dave moir said:

If you don't pay contributions up until you retire you don't get full pension as I have just found out 

the wife worked in the uk.for 20yrs.paid a lot of ni.she got a pension forcast before she left.as she is only 53 now she wont get her state pension till she is 67.so the op.[said he is 50] he got a long wait.

[Farang99]

If your employers in the UK paid your NI contributions (as they should have done) you will be entitled to a state pension, the value of which will depend on the number of NI contributions. As you are only 50, you have another 15 or 20 years (depending when the government shuffles the retirement age) until you can claim. In the mean time you can make additional payments on your own account to increase the value of the pension.

[OJAS]

15 hours ago, topt said:

Slightly misleading - depending on when you were born you may have to claim the "New State Pension".

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

Indeed, it's the date from which you became eligible for the State Pension (i.e. your 65th birthday) rather than any subsequent date from which you actually claim it (as backdated to your 65th birthday) which is the crucial factor. I can vouch for this on the basis of personal experience!

Edited March 28, 2018 by OJAS

[Farang99]

58 minutes ago, meatboy said:

the wife worked in the uk.for 20yrs.paid a lot of ni.she got a pension forcast before she left.as she is only 53 now she wont get her state pension till she is 67.so the op.[said he is 50] he got a long wait.

You can only make contributions for a maximum of 40 years.

[jamie2009]

10 minutes ago, Farang99 said:

You can only make contributions for a maximum of 40 years.

I received my State Pension last year, I had 47 years Contributions.

If you have more than the minimum of 35 years required to receive the Full State Pension you receive more. If you ‘opted out’ for any length of time that reduces it.

A colleague of mine never ‘opted out’ similar Number of Contributions to me receives £50 a week more than me, from memory I ‘opted out’ for 10 years.

Edited March 28, 2018 by jamie2009

[brianj1964]

by the time the OP claims any state pension, the retirement age will be at least 68, possibly more, hes only 50 now, so i dont understand why hes asking this now

[altcar bob]

On 3/27/2018 at 5:55 PM, Iem said:

Brown introduced the 30 year rule for full pension to encourage Europeans  to go to UK to work . It was changed to 35 years a few years later ( it was 40 years to qualify when I did it ). If you give a UK home address and better still be in UK when you claim and then don't tell them if you emmigrate you can continue to get the annual increases for a while . ( Eventually you have to complete a form stating you are still alive - that pins you down )

Not if u keep UK address

 

I