UK Pensioners in Thailand Face New Scrutiny Over Pension Fraud

[webfact]

File photo courtesy: Salzburg global x-account

 

British pensioners living abroad, including in Thailand, will soon face enhanced scrutiny as UK banking confidentiality is set to change under new legislation targeting pension fraud.

 

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, currently under review in the House of Lords, is expected to take effect in early 2025, writes  Barry Kenyon for Pattaya Mail.

 

Under the bill, British banks and building societies must share account details with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) where there are suspicions of fraud involving British citizens, both in the UK and overseas.

 

The bill addresses cases of a small minority of British expats allegedly concealing their residence in countries where they are not eligible for inflation-linked increases to their state pensions.

While some countries, such as those in the EU and the Philippines, qualify for these annual increases, others - including Thailand and Australia - do not.

 

Currently, around 500,000 British pensioners reside in countries with “frozen” pensions, and the DWP estimates that overpayments due to fraud exceed £100 million.

 

Common tactics include maintaining a UK address for official DWP communications while living abroad. For example, a British pensioner based in Thailand was discovered last year after a neighbour returned a DWP letter with the note, “Lucky Sod Lives in Pattaya.”

 

In another instance, a Bangkok-based pensioner’s deception was uncovered when his wife discovered he was enjoying himself in Bangkok rather than working in Baghdad, as he had claimed.

 

However, Thailand’s advocacy group for ending frozen UK pensions argues that the issue of fraud is minor. A representative claimed that the primary issues are DWP processing errors and the discriminatory policy denying pension increases to expats based on location.

 

Neither the previous Conservative nor the current Labour government has addressed these concerns.

 

Additionally, pensioners have voiced frustrations with the unreliable international postal system. The UK authorities require proof of life certificates every three years to continue payments, but these documents are sent via regular mail, often resulting in lost letters and payment suspensions.

 

Frank Weston, 68, a Pattaya-based pensioner, described the system as “insane and discriminatory” and advocated for a shift to a fully digital process, reported Pattaya Mail.

 

-- 2024-11-15

 

 

 

[Chivas]

On an aside Britain currently provide £13.3 Billion annually in overseas aid to countries that even have space programmes

 

Yet lets crucify pensioners living abroad where the "fraud" is estimated at £100 million which is roughly 1/130 of that overseas aid total

 

Not having a pop at Labour or Conservatives per se

[Tropicalevo]

40 minutes ago, webfact said:

Common tactics include maintaining a UK address for official DWP communications while living abroad.

If you do the crime, do the time.

My pension has been frozen for almost nine years. That is one reason why I still work.

Yes, life is a bitch and then we die.

It is how we die that is important.

[John Drake]

Isn't the British government putting the squeeze on pensioners living in Britain by removing their heating subsidy? If they're willing to screw over the people living in the UK, imagine what they'll do to those living overseas.

[lordgrinz]

Maybe the UK government should stop treating it citizens like criminals, or second-class citizens, and start paying them their pensions unmolested. 

[chiang mai]

4 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

Maybe the UK government should stop treating it citizens like criminals, or second-class citizens, and start paying them their pensions unmolested. 

If my pension was molested I'd urge it to report the matter to the police, that sort of behaviour shouldn't be tolerated.

[ikke1959]

All thye immigrants must get money too and the people who worked their whole life for their pension are being punished ......Just as in Thailand there is no inflation... everything especially imported things are very very expensive... but some Governments don't care 

[Baht Simpson]

Like any decent human being I applaud the detection of fraud. However that doesn't detract from the fact that freezing pensions based solely on geography is monstrous.

 

I'm also not happy with them acquiring information from banks without my knowledge. 

 

This may lead to banks who allow expats to run an account in the U.K. to stop as it's not worth the extra admin. and they will close accounts arbitrarily. 

[normanx1234]

That particular Bill is dead:

 

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3430/news

 

So only an issue if Labour introduce something similar.

[Gottfrid]

Yeah, all the Brits who moves to Thailand or lives here, knows the rules. Fair or unfair, has nothing to do with it. If they make a choice to move to Thailand, they will also make a choice to go by the rules. Break them, and sooner or later you will have to pay for it. Something that might be so hard that they can not stay in Thailand no more. 

 

Welcome to Thailand! Stop hiding and breaking the law. If you can´t afford it, Thailand is not for you. Then it´s better to chose a country where can get your full pension.

Edited 20 minutes ago by Gottfrid

[Chivas]

26 minutes ago, Baht Simpson said:

Like any decent human being I applaud the detection of fraud. However that doesn't detract from the fact that freezing pensions based solely on geography is monstrous.

 

I'm also not happy with them acquiring information from banks without my knowledge. 

 

This may lead to banks who allow expats to run an account in the U.K. to stop as it's not worth the extra admin. and they will close accounts arbitrarily. 

 

i can assure you that they've always had that "aquiring information" facility and I'll leave it at that lol

I suspect with the new act they wont need a magistrates or judges direction as they do currently and thats the difference

 

Should be noted that the DWP are not going to go willy nilly into peoples bank accounts who are not in receipt of "state benefits" per se Pension Credit or Housing Benefit blah blah blah

 

This act is mainly aimed at those on benefits and not entitled to them albeit this frozen pension dedection is a step too far

 

Should also be remembered this frozen pension bit has been like it for 70 years.....i

Edited 13 minutes ago by Chivas

[Gottfrid]

9 minutes ago, Chivas said:

Should also be remembered this frozen pension bit has been like it for 70 years....

Ok, thanks! So, folks! Nothing new then. Like if you smuggle cocaine into a country, you will get punished. An old law, that everyone understands. Must be same with smuggling money that doesn´t really belong to you, into your paradise world.

[Chivas]

2 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Ok, thanks! So, folks! Nothing new then. Like if you smuggle cocaine into a country, you will get punished. An old law, that everyone understands. Must be same with smuggling money that doesn´t really belong to you, into your paradise world.

 

You've lost me

Who mentioned smuggling money or where Cocaine fits in I have no idea