Claiming UK State Pension for the First Time

[piston broke]

 

Couple of questions to all of you guys that have started claiming your UK pension in the last 12 months

 

Did you just ring the International Pension Centre, and give them a few security questions and that was enough for them to start paying you - or did you need to complete a form and send it off to them with your birth certificate as proof of ID ?

 

Also, when the pension payment is paid into your Thai Bank Account - Do you receive it in GBP,  and the bank then converts it into Thai Baht - or do they send it in Thai Baht ? - if the latter is the case - what exchange rate do they use compared to the Thai Bank's TT rate ?

 

TIA ..

[CharlieH]

Its a matter of preference, and there are topics here to read.

 

Some make the multiple calls, not free, some get lucky, others try for weeks and never get through but spend a fortune trying.

Others just prefer to fill in the form and post it off.

 

 

[Moonlover]

I think you will find this useful @piston broke

 

 

[piston broke]

 thank you for that link - very useful ....

 

But doesn't answer the 2nd part of my post:

 

"Also, when the pension payment is paid into your Thai Bank Account - Do you receive it in GBP,  and the bank then converts it into Thai Baht - or do they send it in Thai Baht ? - if the latter is the case - what exchange rate do they use compared to the Thai Bank's TT rate ? "

 

Any ideas ?

 

[Moonlover]

24 minutes ago, piston broke said:

 thank you for that link - very useful ....

 

But doesn't answer the 2nd part of my post:

 

"Also, when the pension payment is paid into your Thai Bank Account - Do you receive it in GBP,  and the bank then converts it into Thai Baht - or do they send it in Thai Baht ? - if the latter is the case - what exchange rate do they use compared to the Thai Bank's TT rate ? "

 

Any ideas ?

 

If you opt for direct deposit to your Thai bank account, payments will be handled by Citicorp. You'll be paid in THB and at the mid market exchange rate, which is just about as good as you can get. There is a small fee, in my case around 120 THB. 

 

The only disadvantage is that payments can be delayed due to Thai or US public holidays. (US because Citicorp is American of course)

 

Another option is to have your payments deposited into a Wise multi currency account and handle the transfers yourself. The overall costs will be about the same, but you won't encounter any delays due to holidays. (at least not usually)

 

Your choice.

[piston broke]

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

If you opt for direct deposit to your Thai bank account, payments will be handled by Citicorp. You'll be paid in THB and at the mid market exchange rate, which is just about as good as you can get. There is a small fee, in my case around 120 THB. 

 

The only disadvantage is that payments can be delayed due to Thai or US public holidays. (US because Citicorp is American of course)

 

Another option is to have your payments deposited into a Wise multi currency account and handle the transfers yourself. The overall costs will be about the same, but you won't encounter any delays due to holidays. (at least not usually)

 

Your choice.

 

Very helpful, thank you ....