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

[KannikaP]

14 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I get 3 pensions paid into Wise UK monthly. There is  a small fee charged by Wise when I transfer to Bangkok Bank in Thailand, BBK do not charge a fee and when I transfer from BBK to KBank there is no fee either.

 

I used to get the pensions direct to KBank but the problem with that is that I was never sure when it would arrive, never sure how much I would get and the forex rate would be KBank at the time. Using that system it would go to Citibank UK and then I think to Citibank US, possibly somewhere else and then KBank head office. There they would do a manual transfer in banking time to my account.

 

With Wise I decide when to make the transfer. I tell them how much I wish to transfer and they give me a quote (minus 3 or 4 quid or whatever). That forex rate is valid for that transaction only. I get a tracking number so that I can see when, where, how much, forex rate until it arrives in BBK bank. from Sunday to Thursday transfer it is less than 24 hours. Friday and Saturday transfer arrives on Monday around 2pm Thai time.

 

The exceptions to this are Thai bank holidays when it gets paid on the next working day.

 

I have made a monthly/yearly spreadsheet which forecasts payment in UK day, payment in Thailand, actual pension payment as it arrives at Wise, amount transferred, forex rate and cash amount in Baht.

 

And I assume, it arrives in Bkk Bank as a Foreign Transfer, for those who need it for Immigration.

 

[billd766]

Just now, KannikaP said:

And I assume, it arrives in Bkk Bank as a Foreign Transfer, for those who need it for Immigration.

 

I could get it sent to KBank but that would mean opening a new account in my name only and from the conversation I had with the KBank call centre a week ago I would have to apply to them every month to get credit advice notes for Immigration.

[KannikaP]

9 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Absolute rubbish.

 

I am the same as Kwasaki which is similar to a lot of other expats in Thailand.

 

I did all my financial planning years ahead of when I would need it.

 

I moved to Thailand in 2001 and planned in 2002 when the forex rate was around 70thb/gbp,

 

NOBODY could/can see much more than 3 months ahead to plan.

 

Nobody could forsee the 1997 currency crash in Thailand, no the 2008 crash in the US nor Brexit.

 

You make your choice at the time it suits you and hope you got it right.

 

 

Whoop de do for you. Come back in 10 or 15 years and see if you feel the same.

Sorry Bill you misunderstood what I meant by bad planning. If it is so important that a transfer from UK to Thailand is on a specific day in order to pay bills, then it IS bad planning. He needs a buffer of at least ONE MONTH's expenses in the Thai bank to ensure that delays, bank problems, wars in the World, do not interfere with that bill paying process. 

Kwasaki does not say whether he does his extension with a lump sum or regular transfers, but a full UK pension would not be enough to satisfy dear old IO per month unless he used the Combination method.

Edited July 19, 2022 by KannikaP

[KannikaP]

12 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Absolute rubbish.

 

I am the same as Kwasaki which is similar to a lot of other expats in Thailand.

 

I did all my financial planning years ahead of when I would need it.

 

I moved to Thailand in 2001 and planned in 2002 when the forex rate was around 70thb/gbp,

 

NOBODY could/can see much more than 3 months ahead to plan.

 

Nobody could forsee the 1997 currency crash in Thailand, no the 2008 crash in the US nor Brexit.

 

You make your choice at the time it suits you and hope you got it right.

 

 

Whoop de do for you. Come back in 10 or 15 years and see if you feel the same.

I have made sure that my savings are enough to top up my UK Pension to a level where I can live comfortably in Thailand for the years I have left, although who knows how long that may be.

And without worrying if a transfer will arrive on a certain day I am a few months ahead of my needs.

[MrMuddle]

7 hours 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.

Last time I went back I wanted to turn around, and come back here, before I left Manchester Airport!

[jonbeen]

8 hours ago, dick turpin said:

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

Inflation busting 10 percent increase.

More like 12%  plus,plus 500 smackers to go on top of Christmas tree

[anchadian]

3 hours ago, transam said:

I have never paid anything for my pension into BKK Bank...

Although you are being paid 4 weeks in arrears whereas using Wise Ltd,

payments are in advance and you can also choose when and how much to send when rates are to your liking.

 

Think about it.

[473geo]

My Uk pension drops into my BAAC account exchange rate looks fine ???? provided the correct account name and details, swift code, on the online international pension payments form, not sure if you can use it to change bank details, not checked, not required 

[KannikaP]

UK Pension to UK bank to Wise to Bangkok Bank. What can be simpler?

Edited July 19, 2022 by KannikaP

[JetsetBkk]

54 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

UK Pension to UK bank to Wise to Bangkok Bank. What can be simpler?

UK Pension to UK bank, S.W.I.F.T. to Thai bank. 

[billd766]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

Sorry Bill you misunderstood what I meant by bad planning. If it is so important that a transfer from UK to Thailand is on a specific day in order to pay bills, then it IS bad planning. He needs a buffer of at least ONE MONTH's expenses in the Thai bank to ensure that delays, bank problems, wars in the World, do not interfere with that bill paying process. 

Kwasaki does not say whether he does his extension with a lump sum or regular transfers, but a full UK pension would not be enough to satisfy dear old IO per month unless he used the Combination method.

I do my marriage extension on income only as over the years the forex rate has varied form a low of about 38 in the early 90s to over 90 in 1997 and slowly back down again to the current rates.

 

In 2002 the forex rate was around 70 and I had another 7 working years. Unfortunately it ended up as only 4 working years, because as you get older less companies want you, even in the contracting field.

 

The bit that confuses me the most is that there are thousands of "financial experts" world wide working for companies.

 

If they are so expert, why are they still working for companies and not multi millionaires.

[billd766]

2 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

UK Pension to UK bank, S.W.I.F.T. to Thai bank. 

How much does it cost, is the forex rate better and is the transmission time quicker?

[Kinnock]

11 minutes ago, billd766 said:

How much does it cost, is the forex rate better and is the transmission time quicker?

I'm not on a Gov. Pension yet, but UK Bank to K Bank transers costs £9.50 per transfer and takes, on average, 5 days.

[scubascuba3]

9 hours ago, billd766 said:

from the conversation I had with the KBank call centre a week ago I would have to apply to them every month to get credit advice notes for Immigration.

Not needed anymore, the Wise transfers are posted with a code that Kasikorn recognise as International 

[Boomer6969]

If you transfer as you earn, shouldn't you file a Tax return in Thailand? Even if withholding tax is levied in UK?

[KannikaP]

9 hours ago, JetsetBkk said:

UK Pension to UK bank, S.W.I.F.T. to Thai bank. 

That's OK if you want to pay SWIFT transfer charges instead of WISE.

But at the end of the day, it's not really worth worrying about.

[transam]

12 hours ago, anchadian said:

Although you are being paid 4 weeks in arrears whereas using Wise Ltd,

payments are in advance and you can also choose when and how much to send when rates are to your liking.

 

Think about it.

The in arrears is misleading, that happens once when your pension starts.

I don't need to think about it, my money is in my BKK bank every fourth Thursday with no charges, BKK bank ATM card, no charges.....????

[theoldgit]

23 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

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 ?

 

Have you read this?
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad

[theoldgit]

12 hours ago, KannikaP said:

UK Pension to UK bank to Wise to Bangkok Bank. What can be simpler?

 

Simple yes, but only if you still have a UK bank account.

[Kwasaki]

14 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Could not give a toss about your bodily functions.

But why not send SIX week's pension next time so you are a couple in credit.

I top up my UK Pension with my hard earned savings/private pensions, that's what I saved for.

Thanks for trying to help but I'm really OK I don't care about money it's my health I take care of these days.

I don't need to do what you do. 

I have been OK on my uk pension for 10 years now, I live comfortably on that alone that's not what saved for it's what I planned for. 

 

My private pensions are just a top up and left in UK.

 

If they stop the pension like they will do if they don't receive a life form back in time I have to get money off my wife or go into my Thai savings for yearly extensions which I do like to do. 

[theoldgit]

13 hours ago, billd766 said:

I could get it sent to KBank but that would mean opening a new account in my name only and from the conversation I had with the KBank call centre a week ago I would have to apply to them every month to get credit advice notes for Immigration.

 

I bank with Kasikorn, I opened an account with Bangkok Bank for the sole purpose of receiving funds from my UK account, I transfer on receipt to my Kasikorn Account.

 

I registered to receive Credit Advices and they are sent out automatically, usually about 45 mins after the funds reach my account.

 

Another plus point is that most of the incoming transfers are on the same page, and the IO doesn't need to check the book line by line.

 

You can now get statements for up to 12 months via the BKK Bank App, they are delivered via email. Though I'm not sure if the IO's would accept these, as it would be too easy for the applicant.  

[KannikaP]

6 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

You can now get statements for up to 12 months via the BKK Bank App, they are delivered via email. Though I'm not sure if the IO's would accept these, as it would be too easy for the applicant.  

I tried but could only get the last 6 months. And if not stamped by the Bank, are they acceptable to the dear IO.

[KannikaP]

16 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I have been OK on my uk pension for 10 years now, I live comfortably on that alone that's not what saved for it's what I planned for. 

Current State Pension is £141 a week. What was it 10 years ago?

You are doing OK living on Bht 25000 a month (4 x £141)

But what about Health Insurance?

[transam]

14 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Current State Pension is £141 a week. What was it 10 years ago?

You are doing OK living on Bht 25000 a month (4 x £141)

But what about Health Insurance?

Why the personal questions, none of your business.....????

[KannikaP]

5 minutes ago, transam said:

Why the personal questions, none of your business.....????

I pay a lot for private health insurance, so if someone has found a cheaper, better policy, I am simply asking. Nowt wrong with that.

[Kwasaki]

14 hours ago, billd766 said:

I get 3 pensions paid into Wise UK monthly. There is  a small fee charged by Wise when I transfer to Bangkok Bank in Thailand, BBK do not charge a fee and when I transfer from BBK to KBank there is no fee either.

 

I used to get the pensions direct to KBank but the problem with that is that I was never sure when it would arrive, never sure how much I would get and the forex rate would be KBank at the time. Using that system it would go to Citibank UK and then I think to Citibank US, possibly somewhere else and then KBank head office. There they would do a manual transfer in banking time to my account.

 

With Wise I decide when to make the transfer. I tell them how much I wish to transfer and they give me a quote (minus 3 or 4 quid or whatever). That forex rate is valid for that transaction only. I get a tracking number so that I can see when, where, how much, forex rate until it arrives in BBK bank. from Sunday to Thursday transfer it is less than 24 hours. Friday and Saturday transfer arrives on Monday around 2pm Thai time.

 

The exceptions to this are Thai bank holidays when it gets paid on the next working day.

 

I have made a monthly/yearly spreadsheet which forecasts payment in UK day, payment in Thailand, actual pension payment as it arrives at Wise, amount transferred, forex rate and cash amount in Baht.

 

Your probably be told that's bad financial planning Bill. ????????????

[chang50]

13 hours ago, KannikaP said:

UK Pension to UK bank to Wise to Bangkok Bank. What can be simpler?

UK pension to Wise to Thai bank?

[transam]

1 minute ago, chang50 said:

UK pension to Wise to Thai bank?

Surely, UK pension to Thai bank must be the simplest....?  ????

[theoldgit]

29 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I tried but could only get the last 6 months. And if not stamped by the Bank, are they acceptable to the dear IO.

 

You can now get up to 12 months if you apply via their App, it's a new service and I did a succesfully did a trial run yesterday, the statement was delivered in about 30 mins via email.

 

Of course, as we both wondered, it really depends what the IO's take would be, most certainly don't like to make things straightforward.  

[bradiston]

1 minute ago, chang50 said:

UK pension to Wise to Thai bank?

Somebody else said he has pensions paid directly into a Wise account. Is this possible? I use Wise but I don't think the account I transfer to from my UK bank is available to 3rd parties. I move funds from my UK bank to Wise where they're held until I move them on, to a Thai or Filipino bank or wherever, as I choose.