UK State Pension - How does one get it paid in Thai baht into a Thai bank account ?

[Pumpuynarak]

I'm already receiving a UK state pension and have it paid into my UK bank account but i'm thinking of having it paid into my Thai bank account.

 

What is the process to achieve this, is it purely a case of contacting the UK DWP by phone or can it be done online ?

 

Has anyone experience of doing this ?

 

How does the exchange rate used by the UK DWP compare to Wise rate ?

 

Thanks for any help guys.

[Kwasaki]

It's paid into a Thai bank by City-bank UK at a better rate but not a great deal of difference if you are using Wise. 

 

You can only do it on an annual basis after giving DWP the Thai bank code account name and number. 

 

You will have to telephone them to arrange it and if you ask nicely they will ring you back .

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Kwasaki

[KannikaP]

But of course, you will not get any annual increases.

[Pumpuynarak]

29 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

It's paid into a Thai bank by City-bank UK at a better rate but not a great deal of difference if you are using Wise. 

 

You can only do it on an annual basis after giving DWP the Thai bank code account name and number. 

 

You will have to telephone them to arrange it and if you ask nicely they will ring you back .

 

Not sure i understand this "annual basis" do you mean the anniversary of when i started to receive the pension. It is currently paid 4 weekly.

[Pumpuynarak]

12 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

But of course, you will not get any annual increases.

Gave up on them long ago, i'm not going to criminalise myself for a few measly quid a month.

But thats another story which has been done to death imo

[Kwasaki]

16 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Not sure i understand this "annual basis" do you mean the anniversary of when i started to receive the pension. It is currently paid 4 weekly.

Yes if you elected 4 weekly payments into your UK bank on the start date they state you can change it annually only from that date.

You have to arrange it at least 2 or 3 months before with them as I remember.

So ring them up if you wish to change they are very helpful. 

[Kwasaki]

33 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

But of course, you will not get any annual increases.

Not if he spends 180 days in UK.

[dick turpin]

6 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Gave up on them long ago, i'm not going to criminalise myself for a few measly quid a month.

But thats another story which has been done to death imo

Yeah, the last thing you want to do is take advantage of next year's

Inflation busting 10 percent increase.

[blackshadow]

have to contact pension office in uk.....

tell them you want pension paid into thai bank......

give them the swift code, and bank account number....and name of bank

[KannikaP]

12 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Not if he spends 180 days in UK.

Then why would he want his pension paid into a Thai Bank?

[Pumpuynarak]

11 minutes ago, dick turpin said:

Yeah, the last thing you want to do is take advantage of next year's

Inflation busting 10 percent increase.

Yes big money ????

[Kwasaki]

2 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Then why would he want his pension paid into a Thai Bank?

Dunno up to him. 

[Pumpuynarak]

15 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Not if he spends 180 days in UK.

Live in Thailand permanently and have done for the last 15 years, 180 days living in the UK would be like a prison sentence to me.

[Kwasaki]

1 minute ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Yes big money ????

Well it is to criminals. ????

[KannikaP]

2 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Live in Thailand permanently and have done for the last 15 years, 180 days living in the UK would be like a prison sentence to me.

Agree. Just did 18 days and that was enough. It is nice and COOL here at the moment.

[KannikaP]

4 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Dunno up to him. 

He did not say he was spending 180 days in UK.

[Kwasaki]

1 minute ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Live in Thailand permanently and have done for the last 15 years, 180 days living in the UK would be like a prison sentence to me.

I concur I have been receiving my UK pension for 10 years my family come and see me. 

[Pumpuynarak]

Just now, Kwasaki said:

I concur I have been receiving my UK pension for 10 years my family come and see me. 

Bingo and me same same, they love coming to Thailand.

[Kwasaki]

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

He did not say he was spending 180 days in UK.

I was answering your first post.

[anchadian]

A UK pension can be paid into a Thai bank of your choosing every 4 or 13 weeks in arrears.

 

As this involves a change of circumstances, you will have to either write or telephone the international pensions centre.

 

Using Wise Ltd is a far better option as you can transfer monies to Thailand as and when the xrate is favourable.  UK Pensions can pay to Wise weekly if your wish but transferring weekly would incur further fees.

Wise does not pay interest.

[transam]

Paid into a Thai bank either 28 days or every 3 months, your choice. They will send you a letter to your Thai address with a form to fill in and return. 

Easy....????

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Not sure i understand this "annual basis" do you mean the anniversary of when i started to receive the pension. It is currently paid 4 weekly.

I would ignore that, I did it the other way round.

I copied the relevant part of the application form, see attached, and posted it to them. I was lucky they got it just after one payment and I got the next to my UK account. They say they need a months's notice.

I would suggest you enter the Thai branch code, I think it helps with the payment. If I remember right it is the first group of 3 on your Thai account.

Mine is due on a Friday and I always received it in my Thai account between 08.30 and 09.00 on the day due, a day early if a bank holiday in the UK. Rate is quite good as they buy the currency in bulk, but Wise is also good so maybe not much in it. Good luck.

Direct Payment -.pdf

[bluemoonpattaya]

For more flexibility on your payments, i use HSBC to transfer money when needed and when exchange rates are good. Or you can setup regular payments to the Thai bank account of your choice, which you can change online to suit your needs. But the most important thing for me is to make sure that any monies sent, should be in £ sterling.

[transam]

Just now, bluemoonpattaya said:

For more flexibility on your payments, i use HSBC to transfer money when needed and when exchange rates are good. Or you can setup regular payments to the Thai bank account of your choice, which you can change online to suit your needs. But the most important thing for me is to make sure that any monies sent, should be in £ sterling.

The cost of your transfers are......?

The UK pension costs nothing to put into a Thai bank..

[bluemoonpattaya]

32 minutes ago, transam said:

The cost of your transfers are......?

The UK pension costs nothing to put into a Thai bank..

I pay £4 for transfer from the UK, plus exchange commission in the Thai bank. I make about 1 money transfer a year, unless more is needed. It suits my needs of moving money about.

Do UK pension pay the bank exchange charges in Thailand ?

[norfolkandchance]

4 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

It's paid into a Thai bank by City-bank UK at a better rate but not a great deal of difference if you are using Wise. 

 

You can only do it on an annual basis after giving DWP the Thai bank code account name and number. 

 

You will have to telephone them to arrange it and if you ask nicely they will ring you back .

 

Or use Skype for free.

[flossie35]

You can have it paid into an account at Bangkok Bank London Branch and they will send it on to an account in Thailand. In my case it''s to one of their branches, but they will probably send to another Thai bank - you'd need to check. The charge is GBP20 each time, which I think is much less than a UK bank would charge.

 

[KannikaP]

8 minutes ago, flossie35 said:

You can have it paid into an account at Bangkok Bank London Branch and they will send it on to an account in Thailand. In my case it''s to one of their branches, but they will probably send to another Thai bank - you'd need to check. The charge is GBP20 each time, which I think is much less than a UK bank would charge.

 

You can have it paid directly into a Wise Borderless Account (GBP) and send to Thailand as & when you want.

[xylophone]

6 minutes ago, flossie35 said:

You can have it paid into an account at Bangkok Bank London Branch and they will send it on to an account in Thailand. In my case it''s to one of their branches, but they will probably send to another Thai bank - you'd need to check. The charge is GBP20 each time, which I think is much less than a UK bank would charge.

 

As I recall, that's the option I use at the moment, however I do think that £20 is a bit expensive and I did investigate other options a few years ago, but deigned to leave it as it was. 

 

1 hour ago, transam said:

The cost of your transfers are......?

The UK pension costs nothing to put into a Thai bank..

However "transam" states that to pay the UK pension into a Thai bank costs nothing, but I don't recall the that being an option a few years ago, unless things have changed?

[transam]

44 minutes ago, bluemoonpattaya said:

I pay £4 for transfer from the UK, plus exchange commission in the Thai bank. I make about 1 money transfer a year, unless more is needed. It suits my needs of moving money about.

Do UK pension pay the bank exchange charges in Thailand ?

What bank charges..?