Help needed with one question about UK frozen state pension.

[bkk_mike]

On 11/24/2024 at 2:38 PM, Denim said:

Put another way.

 

A man starts receiving his state pension.

 

He stays in the UK for 4 years and receives the annual increase.

He then honestly informs the DWP that he is retiring to Thailand.

 

The question  therefore is , if he retires to Thailand does he receive his pension plus the annual increases or , once  he departs the UK does his pension drop back to his original first amount ?

 

What a can of worms !

Your pension is frozen at the rate you were receiving when you first moved abroad. - so he'd keep the first 4 years of increases.

It will revert to the unfrozen amount if you go and live in a country where pensions aren't frozen for a while. But if you then return to a frozen pension country, it goes back to the earlier frozen amount.

 

It's one reason why the Philippines is maybe a better retirement location than Thailand for those dependent on the state pension.

 

English is also more widely spoken in the Philippines (because it used to be a US territory, which I always believed was the reason your pension isn't frozen there - because it's not frozen in the US). The UK hasn't signed a new agreement for over 40 years, so the only hope for those retiring to Thailand is that the Trans Pacific Partnership starts having rules around things like this (like the EU does - which is why your pension doesn't get frozen in Spain even though the UK never signed an agreement on it with Spain directly.)

[scottiejohn]

1 hour ago, BumGun said:

Read this story today of this lady having a go to unfreeze the UK Pensions

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/nov/30/war-veteran-frozen-pensions-no-10

If she is so hard up that she says " “I can’t remember when I bought anything new, and I have to limit even essential purchases to thrift and similar stores." Who is paying for her flight and accommodation?

[jori123]

On 11/29/2024 at 1:31 AM, Goodison said:

@Keith5588  People do get caught and the link below tells about bloke who lives in Pattaya. At a minimum they want the over pay money back. Fines are between £350 & £5,000. They can stop or reduce your benefit up to 3 years and could criminally prosecute you. HMRC & DWP are joined at the hip and share info and if your caught HMRC are going to take a good look at you. We are living in an ever digital world and the UK & Thailand are both CRS Countries and if you want to know what info they share look up Common Reporting Standard WIKIPEDIA.

 

https://www.iexpats.com/cheating-expats-try-fiddle-pension-claims/

 

   You are the font of all the most useless crap imaginal.   Another scouser  having a tilt at wonderment.

 

 "common reporting standards " right  This was a bad start for one, along with the blizzard of crap following. 

 

   Did read ,(enough of it) he is 71 and look at health insurance there  LOL  

 

  In your search for the holy grail of DWP think tank on days in/days out  there is none...period. 

[bkk_mike]

5 hours ago, wavodavo said:

I would guess that after w/w2 the U.S would have had a lot of soldiers that stayed in the Philipines and probably British and Aussies  also so the  gov. made it easy for them to access pensions and benifits from back home.

I call male bovine excrement on the idea that the government was trying to make it easier after the war...
 

Because if the UK government wanted to "make it easy" for people retiring to allied countries after WW2, Australia, Canada and New Zealand wouldn't be in the list of countries where pensions are frozen. (New Zealand will actually top up a Brits frozen pension to what they deem an amount that can be lived on - similar to how pension credit in the UK would top up a New Zealander's frozen pension - New Zealand being the other country that freezes pensions if you retire abroad...)