Frozen in time: British expats losing out on pensions in Thailand

[SoCal1990]

Who cares. Just another bunch of old moaners from the UK. Don't like it? Don't complain, go live somewhere else where your pension won't be capped. Everyone has choices, right?

[G_Money]

5 minutes ago, bradiston said:

A dump thanks largely to colonialist Spain and the US, right? In any case, these beggars are hardly in a position to be choosers, are they?

Spain correct.  Deep graft and corruption so imbedded they’ll never get out.

 

U.S. did more for them in 50 years than 300+ years of Spanish Rule.

 

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, SoCal1990 said:

Who cares. Just another bunch of old moaners from the UK. Don't like it? Don't complain, go live somewhere else where your pension won't be capped. Everyone has choices, right?

You sound very empathetic and caring!

 

Have you considered that many of those people have lived here for decades and have families here. Perhaps their financial planning and acumen wasn't that great three decades ago and they misjudged the high cost of inflation over that period, but is that entirely their fault. Telling a 75 year old to go back to a country where he has no assets or family and hasn't lived for thirty years, whilst all his family is here, is not helpful. 

[chrisbangkok]

50 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Ex-nurses, firefighters & Police Officers all get “Final Salary” government pensions which are very generous & exempt from Tax in Thailand. 
 

It’s the average Joe with little/no additional pension that feels this the most. 

Should have moved to Philippines (where State Pension is not frozen). 

Or planned for their future whilst working and ensure they're not reliant on a state pension which if that's all they had in the uk they'd be struggling even more .. no pad krapow at 40 baht etc etc ... it's no mystery , you'll need money when you're older so plan ahead while you're younger and then the state pension becomes your "beer" money .

Edited 3 hours ago by chrisbangkok

[bradiston]

1 minute ago, G_Money said:

Lay off the bottle for awhile.  It’ll do you good.

"a while" not "awhile". TT old bean. For many years.

[Expat68]

50 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Ex-nurses, firefighters & Police Officers all get “Final Salary” government pensions which are very generous & exempt from Tax in Thailand. 
 

It’s the average Joe with little/no additional pension that feels this the most. 

Should have moved to Philippines (where State Pension is not frozen). 

Final Salary exempt from Thai Tax. Is that everyone who was on Final Salary regardless whether it was government or not?

[Rampant Rabbit]

45 minutes ago, theblether said:

 

My dad is just out of hospital today. Picked up by ambulance within twenty minutes and a seven day stay. 

 

The NHS is not the basketcase people are making out. 

My Brother 72 recenly broke his femur (Saturday 29th Sept)  spent 2  days waiting for a bed in a chair  then trolley...............hes mentally handicapped and lives in a  mencap home in Birmingham. My Mother 96 broke her femur 3  years  ago had to wait hours for an ambulance in Mid Wales.

[G_Money]

4 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

So what IS Harris's specific policy as to social security? Post any link actually speaking on the issue. Social Security IS in fact socialism. You obviously skipped that part of your history class, you don't have a clue as to what socialism actually is, you're just parroting what you've heard from others who also haven't got a clue what it actually is. But go ahead, post a link to her talking about Social Security. I'm all ears. You won't because you can't. 

No one really knows Harris policies because she has none.  If you saw the debate you would know this.

 

Just explained SS to another rocket scientist a few threads earlier.

 

Read it and learn something.

 

As I recall the UK old age pension is a hand out. I am not completely sure but someone here should explain the facts.

[G_Money]

5 minutes ago, bradiston said:

"know" not "no". Are you semi literate thanks to the US education system, or just born that way?

Spell check 

 

but if that’s all you got, that’s all you got

Edited 3 hours ago by G_Money

[Mike Teavee]

Just now, Expat68 said:

Final Salary exempt from Thai Tax. Is that everyone who was on Final Salary regardless whether it was government or not?

No, just Government Pensions, Private Sector Final Salary pensions are tax assessable if remitted to Thailand  

Edited 3 hours ago by Mike Teavee

[chrisbangkok]

3 hours ago, G_Money said:

That is pretty f——- up. What difference does it make where they live if one is vetted and qualified.

 

Glad America doesn’t have that policy but if Harris wins anything is possible to include complete forfeiture to give to those who refuse to work.  Socialism is what she represents.

Haha typical yank , socialism isn't communism which is what's got you folks all hot and bothered on the belief that the commies are out to get ya . Old agent orange will save you for sure as he's really got your best interests at heart of course .😜

[G_Money]

Just now, chrisbangkok said:

Haha typical yank , socialism isn't communism which is what's got you folks all hot and bothered on the belief that the commies are out to get ya . Old agent orange will save you for sure as he's really got your best interests at heart of course .😜

Another Brit that has had one too many pints in the past 8 hours.

[jori123]

https://aseannow.com/topic/1318899-uk-frozen-pension-returning-to-uk-and-going-overseas-again-at-a-later-date/?do=getNewCommenton

EVER the laws covering benefit fraud (specifically Social Security Administration Act 1992) EXCLUDE the state pension as a 'Sanctionable Benefit'.  This means that if you commit state pension fraud your pension cannot be stopped or reduced.  Your pension will simply be adjusted back to the correct 'frozen' level going forward.  You will not have to pay anything back. Theoretically, if you go back to UK you

There is no frozen pension as such, certainly not for receiving one in TH.believe what you want to believe

[chrisbangkok]

1 minute ago, G_Money said:

Another Brit that has had one too many pints in the past 8 hours.

Yep you're right old chum , pickled as usual , bloody socialist gatherings , have a nice day y'all 😊 

[nakhonandy]

5 minutes ago, G_Money said:

No one really knows Harris policies because she has none.  If you saw the debate you would know this.

 

Just explained SS to another rocket scientist a few threads earlier.

 

Read it and learn something.

 

As I recall the UK old age pension is a hand out. I am not completely sure but someone here should explain the facts.

You recall incorrectly. 

 

The UK pension is not a hand out or a benefit, people have paid into it (National insurance) all their working life.

[Ben Zioner]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

After 40 gruelling years as an electronics buyer, the 72 year old Scot was ready to bask in the sun

Amazing sentence. I was raised seeing miners happy to walk to the bus stop to catch the bus to their afternoon shift.

[ThaiFelix]

3 hours ago, G_Money said:

That is pretty f——- up. What difference does it make where they live if one is vetted and qualified.

 

Glad America doesn’t have that policy but if Harris wins anything is possible to include complete forfeiture to give to those who refuse to work.  Socialism is what she represents.

These guys are only losing the increases, how about some of us aussies who lost everything because lived away from Oz too long.  Fullfilled all the other requirements, worked the min 35 years, paid taxes etc but no.  I remember my first pay packet at 15 being told yes you pay a lot of tax but the government will take care of you when you retire.  Pigs *rse!  50 years of contributions and they wont even give some of my money back?  And I still have to pay tax on any dollar I earn and for what?

[G_Money]

1 minute ago, nakhonandy said:

You recall incorrectly. 

 

The UK pension is not a hand out or a benefit, people have paid into it (National insurance) all their working life.

So what percentage of the workers wsges are paid into that system?  
 

[G_Money]

1 minute ago, ThaiFelix said:

These guys are only losing the increases, how about some of us aussies who lost everything because lived away from Oz too long.  Fullfilled all the other requirements, worked the min 35 years, paid taxes etc but no.  I remember my first pay packet at 15 being told yes you pay a lot of tax but the government will take care of you when you retire.  Pigs *rse!  50 years of contributions and they wont even give some of my money back?  And I still have to pay tax on any dollar I earn and for what?

Not good!

[Ben Zioner]

Seems that some guys came here with zero planning. And somehow can't go back?

[Henryford]

It won't be long before the UK State pension is means tested. So anyone with a half decent private pension will get nothing.  So all this talk of frozen pensions will be pointless.

[zombie nights]

Currently what is the full pension received unfrozen in the UK?

Those living in Thailand with frozen pensions get how much?

[itsari]

44 minutes ago, kwilco said:

one of the factors behind Brexit was that the EU was pressuring the UK - match their pensions to the average levels in the EU - those these people voted themselves out of changing the system that has been in place for years.

48.1 percent wanted to remain in the EU and voted out by a small majority .

 

[Henryford]

12 minutes ago, nakhonandy said:

You recall incorrectly. 

 

The UK pension is not a hand out or a benefit, people have paid into it (National insurance) all their working life.

 

NI (National Insurance) is just another word for tax. Has nothing to do with the "benefits" you might get.

[chiang mai]

3 minutes ago, zombie nights said:

Currently what is the full pension received unfrozen in the UK?

Those living in Thailand with frozen pensions get how much?

221 Pounds per week

[Henryford]

4 minutes ago, zombie nights said:

Currently what is the full pension received unfrozen in the UK?

Those living in Thailand with frozen pensions get how much?

 

Those retiring now with a full pension would get about 40,000 baht a month. Most get far less than that.

Edited 2 hours ago by Henryford

[newbee2022]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Three British expats reveal their nightmare experiences of having their UK pension frozen, thanks to a government policy that leaves them with unadjusted savings, sparking widespread outrage.

 

David McConkey believed he was heading for paradise when he retired to Bangkok in May this year. After 40 gruelling years as an electronics buyer, the 72 year old Scot was ready to bask in the sun, sandy beaches, and exotic cuisine of his favourite city. But his dream retirement turned into a financial nightmare when he discovered his UK state pension had been frozen.

 

Despite decades of hard work and contributions, McConkey has been blindsided by a policy affecting 500,000 British expats. Unlike their counterparts in the UK, who enjoy annual increases through the triple lock system, expats like McConkey are left stranded with pensions stuck at their current rate.

 

“I fully paid my contributions to the last penny, but now I am being penalised. People who emigrate to countries like the US get the annual uplift, but Thailand isn’t included. Why?”

The triple lock guarantees UK pensioners an increase linked to inflation, wage growth, or 2.5%. Next April, this will mean an extra £460 (nearly 20,000 baht) a year for most. But expats like McConkey will miss out unless they live in a country with a reciprocal agreement with the UK.

 

It’s not just McConkey who is struggling. George Lewis, a 76 year old British citizen, moved to Thailand in 2004 but now lives hand to mouth.

 

“We don’t have heating bills but air conditioning is expensive, and fans just don’t cut it in 40-degree heat.”

 

Another retiree, 76 year old Guy Lindsay-Watson, echoes the sentiment.

 

“We are hardly coping.”

 

The End Frozen Pensions campaign warns that many pensioners, including ex-nurses, firefighters, and police officers, now live in poverty. Some are even forced to return to the UK, putting extra strain on the NHS and social care system, reported iNews UK.

 

“Government help is what we need, and we need it soon.”

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal 
Frozen in time: British expats losing out on pensions in Thailand. Photo courtesy of iNews UK
 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2024-10-02

 

 

Same story every year. Always same complaints.

It's like riding a dead horse.

Nobody asks them to leave UK, which might the better option anyway to return into safety with a NHS, which will provide health care your unable to pay for in Thailand. These 3 people will end up in a GoFundMe call once. 

And...every country gets the government they deserve.

[itsari]

12 minutes ago, ThaiFelix said:

These guys are only losing the increases, how about some of us aussies who lost everything because lived away from Oz too long.  Fullfilled all the other requirements, worked the min 35 years, paid taxes etc but no.  I remember my first pay packet at 15 being told yes you pay a lot of tax but the government will take care of you when you retire.  Pigs *rse!  50 years of contributions and they wont even give some of my money back?  And I still have to pay tax on any dollar I earn and for what?

I agree , the Australian Government is doing far more injustice to there taxpayers with there portability of old age pension rules .

 

[prakhonchai nick]

8 minutes ago, zombie nights said:

Currently what is the full pension received unfrozen in the UK?

Those living in Thailand with frozen pensions get how much?

Current pension for new claimants around £210/week

Those receiving pensions, which were frozen as soon as they came to Thailand. will get whatever they got during their last month in the UK. How much depends on what year they came to Thailand

[Thumbs]

This is not a sudden change in policy its been in place for decades, tou chose Thailand as a retirement destination so stop moaning about it now because you failed to take it into account. If you want the pension increases then move to Philippines