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 ....

[kenny m]

I rang them in September 2024 as I didn't fancy sending my original birth certificate.
It took about 20 minutes to be answered and then about 30 minutes on the phone with a very affable agent.

All went smoothly and got a letter at the end of November to say my claim had been approved.

Money started arriving in December and has been received like clockwork so far.

[Toby1947]

Don't forget you will probably be paying Thai Income Tax on it. 🤣😂🤣

[sandyf]

On 3/12/2025 at 12:00 PM, 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 ?

 

The DWP use an intermediary bank to make the pension payments which are then done via an account with the BOT. The intermediary bank buys THB in bulk from the BOT which is then paid out to local accounts via Bahtnet.

The bulk buying means you get a favourable rate on your pension.

[HK MacPhooey]

On 3/12/2025 at 1:00 PM, 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 ?

 

Living in HK and receiving since my 66th last Sept - I get mine paid into UK First Direct account. You have to provide your UK bank details in the Remarks section of the form in lieu of your local account.

 

The form is a ball ache as it asks for all home addresses, employers, dates etc since starting employment - also PITA sending off original of birth certificate (more so if sending from Thailand) but it was returned in good time…

 

Can’t imagine HMRC sending TBT so assume your Thai bank will make the exchange.

 

Also think about submitting UK tax return for 2024-2025 next Jan if you are nearing or over your UK personal allowance (12,520 sovs)…

[Mark Hopkins]

Are there any Kiwis out there who've manged to get their NZ pensions instigated whilst in Thailand please?

From my enquires with NZ Work & Income I have acertaind I have to return to NZ to make an application to have a "Transportable" pension and it needs to applied for 7 weeks before leaving!  As my 65th is in August, I really don't want to go back in the middle of winter to wait nearly 2 months!!

[jimn]

7 minutes ago, Mark Hopkins said:

Are there any Kiwis out there who've manged to get their NZ pensions instigated whilst in Thailand please?

From my enquires with NZ Work & Income I have acertaind I have to return to NZ to make an application to have a "Transportable" pension and it needs to applied for 7 weeks before leaving!  As my 65th is in August, I really don't want to go back in the middle of winter to wait nearly 2 months!!

Start your own thread and don't hijack this one. You will get a better response.

[Andyfez]

I just phoned them, it was very easy. 

 

But I'm leaving mine in a UK account as a backup to my usual income.

[DaRoadrunner]

Better to use a UK address if you still have one and have it paid into a UK Bank. Otherwise if they know you are abroad you will not get index linked annual increases.

[OJAS]

9 hours ago, Toby1947 said:

Don't forget you will probably be paying Thai Income Tax on it. 🤣😂🤣

 

Unlikely in practice unless you had other sources of assessable income which, together with the State Pension, exceeded the current 500k THB annual total of allowances and exemptions.