Uk pension claim from Thailand

[Hugh Jampton]

Hi Everyone

 

i am about to reach uk pension age. I realise i can apply four months before my 66th birthday. My question is, before that, how difficult is it to do online from here? And what sort of dates and documents will they require? I intend having my state pension paid straight into my Thai bank account. 
 

thanks in advance

[Moonlover]

Providing the DWP have your correct address they will send you an 'invitation pack' about 4 months before your pension is due. All the details will be revealed. One thing that I do recall is that they want to see your birth certificate. If you haven't got your can get a replacement from  GRO. Details here.

 

Replacement birth Certificate

[Kwasaki]

As Moonlover posted no worries if DWP have your Thai address.

When the forms arrive it's a good few pages or so to fill out. 

 

If you have any concerns about how to answer questions ring them at the IPC office, keep trying if you can't get through first time, when you do get through you can ask them to ring you back after you have got pass the ID questions so they know it's you. 

 

Post the forms back by registered Thai mail at the Thai post office. 

Maybe everything can be done on-line now not sure. 

 

Getting it paid into your Thai bank a/c  I'd say is best if you need dosh every 4 weeks. 

[scubascuba3]

How many years NI have you got? 

[Hugh Jampton]

Thanks guys, i was hoping to get a clue what documents i should line up now, before the four months starts, all my ducks in a row 

[foreverlomsak]

12 minutes ago, Hugh Jampton said:

Thanks guys, i was hoping to get a clue what documents i should line up now, before the four months starts, all my ducks in a row 

Have a look at this site it doesn't directly answer your question, but you may find something useful that you didn't know.

State Pension if you retire abroad - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[anchadian]

Rather than waiting for International pensions to send you a claim pack and then sending the form back to the UK, the easiest procedure of claiming your UK pension payment is to do this online.  The form is straightforward and gives you all the relevant notes to help you.

What docs are required, etc.

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501316/ipc-br1-gov-nsp.pdf

 

Good luck.  This is by far the best option.

[Jaxxper]

18 hours ago, Hugh Jampton said:

Hi Everyone

 

i am about to reach uk pension age. I realise i can apply four months before my 66th birthday. My question is, before that, how difficult is it to do online from here? And what sort of dates and documents will they require? I intend having my state pension paid straight into my Thai bank account. 
 

thanks in advance

If you look at the gov.uk website there will be a section on pensions and what you need to provide. I’m 66 next year and have sort of started pulling the info they require together. As always there is a form to fill in....

[Hugh Jampton]

Thanks guys. The form itself gives away a few clues. Definitely gonna need a birth certificate, my sister is searching thru a suitcase of papers back in the uk, bet its not there. Also the two divorces some 35 and 25 yrs ago, i hardly remember their names, let alone where the divorce absolute was and when! Oh well i guess push on and get it done.....i guess my NI number works but the rest of it is DWI belt and braces? But best they check, and im not worried given how kosher i am.....once again thanks everyone

[David in the north]

I have recently been in the same position as yourself
Went to gov.uk found international pension section, filled in online query form. It does say "may take up to ten days to reply"
Nine days later, reply c/w with about 26 pages to print off. Six are instructions &/or advice, twenty or so you have to fill in. I filled in all the required bits & posted them, along with my original birth certificate & photocopies of Thai marriage certificate & certified translation. In less than three weeks my birth certificate & the copies were returned. The rest is "in progress" (I hope) If you send photocopy of birth certificate, you will need to get it certified by lawyer, bank or similar. Form also states if you don't have certificate - send completed form anyway. I wouldn't wait for any claim pack to be sent to you - I didn't get one! Hope this helps

[cauldlad]

As far as I know you cannot do it online unless you re living in the UK. You have to post the claim form together with your birth certificate. Mine was returned in around 2 weeks.

[Greenside]

In my experience the UK international pensions department is excellent to deal with and outstandingly helpful in every regard.  I went through the process of activating my own pension a couple of years ago and more recently helped the wife of a deceased friend sort her affairs out and at every step they were great.

[Pumpuynarak]

6 minutes ago, cauldlad said:

As far as I know you cannot do it online unless you re living in the UK. You have to post the claim form together with your birth certificate. Mine was returned in around 2 weeks.

 

That was certainly the case when i did mine in 2015.

[cauldlad]

It was in 2017 when I did mine.

[erymax]

I sent my application beginning of December 2020 with all original docs incl. Birth certificate( from Slovakia, I was born there) with legalized translation and few divorce certificates. After 4 weeks I received all the certificates back in Thailand. 1 week after my Birthday (24th January) I received 35 pounds on my UK bank account and 2 days ago I received the rest of the pension (23 years NI).

I have to say it worked out excellent. 

[theoldgit]

24 minutes ago, cauldlad said:

As far as I know you cannot do it online unless you re living in the UK. You have to post the claim form together with your birth certificate. Mine was returned in around 2 weeks.

 

I certainly did mine online in 2012, in my case they were able to confirm my entitlement without a birth certificate, not sure why, maybe via my tax and NI records or maybe because I was a retired Civil Servant they may have had access to more information.

[Guderian]

Just curious. My understanding was that some years ago they changed the rules so that your wife can no longer inherit your state pension when you die, so why do they want all the gubbins about marriage certificates and divorces?

[Nurseynutcase]

I applied for my uk state pension in July last year.  It couldn't be done on-line.

 

I downloaded all the paperwork - extensive form.  Also they what to know all my employment history and where I have lived since birth!!!  Thankfully I had an old C.V. so it was easy(ish) to do but if you have moved around alot it is a bit difficult to remember your home addresses.

 

That said all original document were returned quickly and I got notification of payments to my account a few weeks AFTER it had been paid but I think this was due to postage delays more than anything else.

 

Good luck and bear in mind that you won't get any annual increases until you return to the UK permanently -- also I don't think the under-payments will be back dated.

[worrab]

I just did mine a couple of weeks ago online. Very easy and straightforward. Apart from the usual NI Number and last address in UK, then it is when did you leave UK, last employer, when did you leave the last employer, which bank to pay into and frequency of payments address in Thailand and phone number. It really is that simple and efficient. They will send an SMS when they have processed it to say they will be sending a letter with details of how much you will be getting.

[Nurseynutcase]

2 minutes ago, worrab said:

I just did mine a couple of weeks ago online. Very easy and straightforward. Apart from the usual NI Number and last address in UK, then it is when did you leave UK, last employer, when did you leave the last employer, which bank to pay into and frequency of payments address in Thailand and phone number. It really is that simple and efficient. They will send an SMS when they have processed it to say they will be sending a letter with details of how much you will be getting.

Can I ask which country you are in?

[brianthainess]

19 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Providing the DWP have your correct address they will send you an 'invitation pack' about 4 months before your pension is due. All the details will be revealed. One thing that I do recall is that they want to see your birth certificate. If you haven't got your can get a replacement from  GRO. Details here.

 

Replacement birth Certificate

Having your National Insurance number will also help a lot.

[Peter Denis]

20 hours ago, Hugh Jampton said:

...

I am about to reach uk pension age. ...

I intend having my state pension paid straight into my Thai bank account.

...

What's the benefit of having it transferred straight into your Thai bank-account?

There are several reports of people doing that encountering trouble with Immigration, when the payment date is at the end of the month and due to holidays/delay it turns up beginning of next month, leaving you with one month without any transfers being done and Imm officers not accepting that.

Also possible problems have been reported when it is paid every 4 weeks and the Annual amount meets the overall 400K/800K requirement but the minimum +40 or +65K monthly transfers are not met every month.

>> Using TransferWise you can determine when and how much you sent over every month (you can also play exchange-rate fluctuations by transferring when rates are favorable).  And your pension statement would be accepted as 'source of the funds'.

Even easier would be making use of the Funds-in-Bank method (if you have the initial +400K or +800K available), which does not require having to prove the source of the funds, nor a steady monthly supply.

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Peter Denis

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, David in the north said:

of Thai marriage certificate & certified translation

Why do they need that?

[KannikaP]

20 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Providing the DWP have your correct address they will send you an 'invitation pack' about 4 months before your pension is due. All the details will be revealed. One thing that I do recall is that they want to see your birth certificate. If you haven't got your can get a replacement from  GRO. Details here.

 

Replacement birth Certificate

It will possibly take four months for the pack to arrive! What year are we in , using paper, aeroplanes and vans to deliver forms?

 

To get a copy of birth certificate takes 15 days and costs £20. And then they have to post it to you as copies are not allowed. Then you will have to send it back to UK!

[KannikaP]

8 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Using TransferWise you can determine when and how much you sent over every month (you can also play exchange-rate fluctuations by transferring when rates are favorable)

You can 'build up' your monthly amount in WISE as THB and just send once a month on whichever date you want/need to.

[KannikaP]

14 minutes ago, Nurseynutcase said:

to say they will be sending a letter with details of how much you will be getting.

Why not put that in the SMS? Or email.

[anchadian]

1 hour ago, Hugh Jampton said:

Thanks guys. The form itself gives away a few clues. Definitely gonna need a birth certificate, my sister is searching thru a suitcase of papers back in the uk, bet its not there. Also the two divorces some 35 and 25 yrs ago, i hardly remember their names, let alone where the divorce absolute was and when! Oh well i guess push on and get it done.....i guess my NI number works but the rest of it is DWI belt and braces? But best they check, and im not worried given how kosher i am.....once again thanks everyone

You are definitely not going to need your birth certificate as other docs will suffice namely a copy of the data page of your British passport (this is what I sent and was accepted).  Please see Part 1 About you on the claim form 'Other documents on which your date of birth is recorded may be acceptable'.

[PaoloR]

I did mine 2 years ago from Thailand and posted everything off. Response was quick and they agreed to pay every 3 months as I requested.

Waited, no payment.

Contacted them and they informed me payment was made - then returned by my bank.

I re-sent my bank details and waited; again no payment.

Contacted them again and again they said payment returned claiming there was a mix-up caused by Krungsri sometimes being called other names.

I called bull on this and asked my bank to monitor the situation closely as I was now owed over a year of pension. Turns out they had all the details of my account correct but were using a Japanese name as the account holder, not mine. The bank will not accept an incoming transfer if the name does not match that of the account holder.

Was told this was not possible as the sum had been remitted in my name. I asked them to check again.

Finally got paid with sincere apologies 16 months late.

 

[colinneil]

Interesting reading some of the posts on this thread.

In my case, no birth certificate, ex wife burned it, no problem from DWP.

They asked for my Thai marriage cert, i phoned asked does it have to be translated, no was the answer, we have people here to do that.

Opted for 13 week payments direct into my Thai bank, never had a problem with that.

[brianthainess]

The DWP seems to employ older staff, that seem to have a lot of empathy when dealing with making claims, and treat us as clients. Just saying .