Report Abandoned Abroad: British Pensioner in Thailand Slams 'Immoral' Frozen Pensions Policy

[Stocky]

1 minute ago, jonesthepost said:

Not true if that is case how come they pay the full increse to some who live some countrys and not other 

Anomalies they probably wish they could get out of.

 

The fact is there is a overweight of wrinklies and a shortage of tax paying workers, that and the pension age was set when life expectancy post retirement was about 5 years, the maths no longer work and governments are struggling to pay their pension commitments.

 

There is a snowball's chance in hell this will ever be rectified in favour of the pensioner, if anything those anomalous countries where increases are paid are more likely to be brought inline with the majority.

[quake]

18 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Moron should have done his homework

 

Yes, and he was a banker. 

and a right one at that, by the sound of it. 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Briggsy said:

Assuming a 'triple lock' average annual increase of 3%, after 10 years, an annual pension of £10,000 should become

 

10,000 x (1.03)^10 = £13,439.

 

So, the pensioner living in Thailand is losing £3439/13439 = 25.6% of his pension in Year 10.

 

I would say that is significant.

State pension increases for the past 3 years were, 5%, 10%, 4%.

That's 20% in 3 years.

[Chris Daley]

2 hours ago, JoePai said:

adjusting overseas pensions would cost nearly £1 billion annually

 

Cannot use that on pensioners as all is needed for housing, feeding, clothing etc of the illegal immigrants

But immigrants pay higher taxes and work harder.

[Ralf001]

In what way is old matey "Abandoned"?

[MalcolmB]

Thinking with his little head.

Thailand does that to us.

[newbee2022]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture of Christopher Lee courtesy of the iPaper

 

A British expat's sunny retirement in Thailand has turned stormy as his UK state pension remains frozen, leaving him counting every baht. Christopher Lee traded Wrexham for Thailand in 2010, drawn by the warm climate and relaxed lifestyle. But, his pension is stuck at its original rate, unlike UK counterparts who've seen increases of up to 80%.

 

At 70, the former banker relies on a weekly £137 (6,150 baht) after a SERPS top-up, opposed to the current UK basic pension of £176.45 (7,880 baht). In Thailand, one of many countries on the UK’s 'frozen pensions' list, Lee and others see their pensions diminish amidst rising costs.

 

Over 450,000 Brits in countries like Thailand, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand share Lee's plight, battling constant inflation. “The extra cash would be most useful,” Lee voiced, pressing for a policy reversal as financial strains increase. Adding to his woes is a modest private pension that fails to deliver the retirement he envisioned.

 

 

 

Groups of British pensioners in Thailand are pushing back, urging government reform as pensioners face poverty—a plight highlighted in The Thaiger's coverage of Brits struggling in Pattaya and Chiang Mai. The UK government, however, maintains that adjusting overseas pensions would cost nearly £1 billion annually.

 

The Department for Work and Pensions reported it would take an estimated £940 million to unfreeze pensions in 2024-25. While officials insist information is clear on retirement financial impacts, Lee and others find this unsatisfactory. "We've paid in, so we deserve annual increases," he argued.

 

For expats like Lee, the reality is stark—a life of rising prices and tightened budgets, far removed from the warm retirement once imagined under the Thai sun.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-04-28

 

 

A broken broker/banker 🤣🤣🤣.

Save some money and fly back in Starmer's land. Good bye🥳

Bon voyage🙏

[jwl53]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

At 70, the former banker relies on a weekly £137

Something is not quite right here, I don't think he is telling the whole story, "as a former banker" where is his bank pension?

Where are his investments majority of bankers have access to the best investment opportunities 

[nakhonandy]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture of Christopher Lee courtesy of the iPaper

 

A British expat's sunny retirement in Thailand has turned stormy as his UK state pension remains frozen, leaving him counting every baht. Christopher Lee traded Wrexham for Thailand in 2010, drawn by the warm climate and relaxed lifestyle. But, his pension is stuck at its original rate, unlike UK counterparts who've seen increases of up to 80%.

 

At 70, the former banker relies on a weekly £137 (6,150 baht) after a SERPS top-up, opposed to the current UK basic pension of £176.45 (7,880 baht). In Thailand, one of many countries on the UK’s 'frozen pensions' list, Lee and others see their pensions diminish amidst rising costs.

 

Over 450,000 Brits in countries like Thailand, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand share Lee's plight, battling constant inflation. “The extra cash would be most useful,” Lee voiced, pressing for a policy reversal as financial strains increase. Adding to his woes is a modest private pension that fails to deliver the retirement he envisioned.

 

 

 

Groups of British pensioners in Thailand are pushing back, urging government reform as pensioners face poverty—a plight highlighted in The Thaiger's coverage of Brits struggling in Pattaya and Chiang Mai. The UK government, however, maintains that adjusting overseas pensions would cost nearly £1 billion annually.

 

The Department for Work and Pensions reported it would take an estimated £940 million to unfreeze pensions in 2024-25. While officials insist information is clear on retirement financial impacts, Lee and others find this unsatisfactory. "We've paid in, so we deserve annual increases," he argued.

 

For expats like Lee, the reality is stark—a life of rising prices and tightened budgets, far removed from the warm retirement once imagined under the Thai sun.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-04-28

 

 

It's wrong and we all know it. To be fair we knew this when we decided to retire to Thailand. The government won't change this rule as it's too expensive to do so and we don't vote anyhow so we have no power.

[Trip Hop]

8 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

A broken broker/banker 🤣🤣🤣.

Save some money and fly back in Starmer's land. Good bye🥳

Bon voyage🙏

 

The guy has made a few mistakes, there's no need to be nasty.  I personally wouldn't wish any ill on yourself, even if you do come across as a right d*ck!  You must have a very empty life to have nothing better to do!

[jayboy]

1 hour ago, frank83628 said:

Sorry but if after 60yrs of working you only have the state pension to survive on you werent very good with your money.

 

You are correct.The state pension is not meant to be the sole source of funding except for the unfortunate, deprived and - it has to be said -the irresponsible feckless.

 

Nobody solely reliant on the UK state pension should consider retiring in Thailand.Only the foolish would question this.

 

The rules, unfair as they may seem, have been very clear for decades on the matter of zero annual uplift.

 

There is no chance whatsoever of the UK government changing its policy on the uplift question.

 

One can sympathize with British pensioners in this predicament.Many have Thai families and a return to the UK is not a realistic proposition.I wish them well.Many of us have made big mistakes in life but we must manage the consequences as best we can, hopefully without whining self pity.

[Andrew65]

1 hour ago, lordgrinz said:

 

I assume they pay less in than us American's, we pay in 12.4% of our pay to the US government Ponzi scheme. 

In the UK I think that National Insurance is 9%, that's what the state pension is calculated from. We do still get healthcare included, and we used to get 'free' university, up until around 1998.

[newbee2022]

4 minutes ago, Trip Hop said:

 

The guy has made a few mistakes, there's no need to be nasty.  I personally wouldn't wish any ill on yourself, even if you do come across as a right d*ck!  You must have a very empty life to have nothing better to do!

If I would as stupid as him I would zip my mouth and enter a flight home.

 

[KannikaP]

3 hours ago, Bannoi said:

There is a way around it though move back to UK get the increase then move back to Thailand

Please explain how that works. You go back to UK for how long?

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

There is no reciprocal  agreement with the UK. If there was, he could get his adjustment. It takes 2 to make an agreement and Thailand did not agree.

 

 

I don't understand this. Why does any agreement have to be made? Thailand has no vested interest in how the UK government handles their pensions and the reverse is true also.

[NorthernRyland]

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

I'm in much the same situation as you are but I'm doing just fine here on my pensions, despite the cap on my state pension and I'm basically crap when it comes to money management.

 

well you appear to have more than one pension so that's probably why.

[NorthernRyland]

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

The fact is there is a overweight of wrinklies and a shortage of tax paying workers, that and the pension age was set when life expectancy post retirement was about 5 years, the maths no longer work and governments are struggling to pay their pension commitments.

 

 

Other countries in Europe have run the numbers and immigrants from certain countries are TAX NEGATIVE over their life time. UK is literally importing a manufactured budget crisis and there's no end in sight. Obviously this does not end well.

[renaissanc]

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

Moron should have done his homework

People who mock others when they are experiencing hardship might experience karma one day to teach them a lesson. 

[Stocky]

3 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

Other countries in Europe have run the numbers and immigrants from certain countries are TAX NEGATIVE over their life time. UK is literally importing a manufactured budget crisis and there's no end in sight. Obviously this does not end well.

I said nothing about immigrants, the numbers don't add up with or without immigrants, people live far longer and the demographics have changed with more elderly and fewer youngsters.

[Blueman1]

3 hours ago, impulse said:

While that well and truly sucks, I suspect he's doing better than a retiree that's getting the full adjusted pension back in the UK.  The saving grace back home is that a retiree can pick up some work.  Not legal in Thailand.

 

It should be a cautionary tale for anyone retiring with nothing but a state pension.  You really need a nestegg, or you're going to struggle.

 

Edit:  On an aside, why not move to the Philippines?

 

 

3 hours ago, impulse said:

While that well and truly sucks, I suspect he's doing better than a retiree that's getting the full adjusted pension back in the UK.  The saving grace back home is that a retiree can pick up some work.  Not legal in Thailand.

 

It should be a cautionary tale for anyone retiring with nothing but a state pension.  You really need a nestegg, or you're going to struggle.

 

Edit:  On an aside, why not move to the Philippines?

 

Edit:  On an aside, why not move to the Philippines? But on an Aside....Why WOULD or SHOULD he Do That ??

[kiwikeith]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture of Christopher Lee courtesy of the iPaper

 

A British expat's sunny retirement in Thailand has turned stormy as his UK state pension remains frozen, leaving him counting every baht. Christopher Lee traded Wrexham for Thailand in 2010, drawn by the warm climate and relaxed lifestyle. But, his pension is stuck at its original rate, unlike UK counterparts who've seen increases of up to 80%.

 

At 70, the former banker relies on a weekly £137 (6,150 baht) after a SERPS top-up, opposed to the current UK basic pension of £176.45 (7,880 baht). In Thailand, one of many countries on the UK’s 'frozen pensions' list, Lee and others see their pensions diminish amidst rising costs.

 

Over 450,000 Brits in countries like Thailand, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand share Lee's plight, battling constant inflation. “The extra cash would be most useful,” Lee voiced, pressing for a policy reversal as financial strains increase. Adding to his woes is a modest private pension that fails to deliver the retirement he envisioned.

 

 

 

Groups of British pensioners in Thailand are pushing back, urging government reform as pensioners face poverty—a plight highlighted in The Thaiger's coverage of Brits struggling in Pattaya and Chiang Mai. The UK government, however, maintains that adjusting overseas pensions would cost nearly £1 billion annually.

 

The Department for Work and Pensions reported it would take an estimated £940 million to unfreeze pensions in 2024-25. While officials insist information is clear on retirement financial impacts, Lee and others find this unsatisfactory. "We've paid in, so we deserve annual increases," he argued.

 

For expats like Lee, the reality is stark—a life of rising prices and tightened budgets, far removed from the warm retirement once imagined under the Thai sun.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-04-28

 

 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture of Christopher Lee courtesy of the iPaper

 

A British expat's sunny retirement in Thailand has turned stormy as his UK state pension remains frozen, leaving him counting every baht. Christopher Lee traded Wrexham for Thailand in 2010, drawn by the warm climate and relaxed lifestyle. But, his pension is stuck at its original rate, unlike UK counterparts who've seen increases of up to 80%.

 

At 70, the former banker relies on a weekly £137 (6,150 baht) after a SERPS top-up, opposed to the current UK basic pension of £176.45 (7,880 baht). In Thailand, one of many countries on the UK’s 'frozen pensions' list, Lee and others see their pensions diminish amidst rising costs.

 

Over 450,000 Brits in countries like Thailand, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand share Lee's plight, battling constant inflation. “The extra cash would be most useful,” Lee voiced, pressing for a policy reversal as financial strains increase. Adding to his woes is a modest private pension that fails to deliver the retirement he envisioned.

 

 

 

Groups of British pensioners in Thailand are pushing back, urging government reform as pensioners face poverty—a plight highlighted in The Thaiger's coverage of Brits struggling in Pattaya and Chiang Mai. The UK government, however, maintains that adjusting overseas pensions would cost nearly £1 billion annually.

 

The Department for Work and Pensions reported it would take an estimated £940 million to unfreeze pensions in 2024-25. While officials insist information is clear on retirement financial impacts, Lee and others find this unsatisfactory. "We've paid in, so we deserve annual increases," he argued.

 

For expats like Lee, the reality is stark—a life of rising prices and tightened budgets, far removed from the warm retirement once imagined under the Thai sun.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-04-28

 

 

Nz pension not frozen I just got a pay rise.

What happens if the expat goes back to England for a few weeks does the pension get adjusted back up?? then off back to Thailand.

[Stocky]

2 minutes ago, renaissanc said:

People who mock others when they are experiencing hardship might experience karma one day to teach them a lesson. 

I wasn't mocking, just stating the obvious

[VBF]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

1 hour ago, jonesthepost said:

Not true if that is case how come they pay the full increse to some who live some countrys and not other 

 

I don't know. If that's the case, then there must be some sort of agreement with the other countries.

Then maybe my theory is off. 

If you two actually READ the thread, @Patong2021 explained it quite succinctly above!

[Purdey]

I admit to being shocked.

So this seems to mean that people spend their income without saving a penny, banking on a Pension when they retire. A pension that everyone says is ridiculously low.

Could someone  explain? I admit that as someone who has never been entitled to a pension I don't understand why people would rely on a pension only. 

I am sincerely interested in whether people do save and I have misunderstood something.

[chrisbangkok]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Not the Christopher Lee ,I knew , We all would like more pension ,but the Government

won't give it ,they need the money for all the immigrants ,but Chris knew coming here

what the situation was , myself I get 90 quid a week ,because I retired early ,it is what

it is , no way is the Government going to help us ,it's like out of sight out of mind , 

 

regards Worgeordie

 

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Not the Christopher Lee ,I knew , We all would like more pension ,but the Government

won't give it ,they need the money for all the immigrants ,but Chris knew coming here

what the situation was , myself I get 90 quid a week ,because I retired early ,it is what

it is , no way is the Government going to help us ,it's like out of sight out of mind , 

 

regards Worgeordie

So you've fallen for the immigrant stuff too then . Amazes me how easily folk are brainwashed by misleading articles from the biased media and a couple of disruptive s***stirrers in a new party over in the uk .

Sad state of affairs , " must be true as the mail and s*n said so " ... Free press eh .

 

[Jack Hammer]

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

I agree with you. It does seem somewhat incredulous that a 'former banker' of all professions would not have been aware of the implications of moving to Thailand. I've always been under the impression that being 'something in banking', to coin a phrase, was a good safe haven when it comes to retirement.

 

I'm in much the same situation as you are but I'm doing just fine here on my pensions, despite the cap on my state pension and I'm basically crap when it comes to money management.

 

[Trip Hop]

9 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Please explain how that works. You go back to UK for how long?

 

I don't think that there is a set period.  You just go back, inform the DSS/HMRC that you are back living in the country and give them an address.  I suppose it will take a few weeks for any paperwork to be sent out and completed but as soon as that's done you can technically leave again.  

[JustinCredible]

3 hours ago, Bannoi said:

...............................I agree it's not fair but its not going to change, a pensioner living in Thailand is very low down on the list of priorities. (They don't vote}

 

Speak for yourself. Very easy to set up a Proxy.

[Bannoi]

15 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Please explain how that works. You go back to UK for how long?

"If your UK State Pension is frozen due to living abroad, it will automatically "unfreeze" and increase with the annual rises when you return to the UK and become a resident. There's no specific waiting period; it's a matter of notifying the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of your return and providing details of your return date and contact information, both abroad and in the UK." 

 

[Blueman1]

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

I agree with you. It does seem somewhat incredulous that a 'former banker' of all professions would not have been aware of the implications of moving to Thailand. I've always been under the impression that being 'something in banking', to coin a phrase, was a good safe haven when it comes to retirement.

 

I'm in much the same situation as you are but I'm doing just fine here on my pensions, despite the cap on my state pension and I'm basically crap when it comes to money management.

But You Said YOU Live Fine on your Pension(S) Maybe He Doesn't have anything other than his State Pension to Live Fine On.....