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

[sandyf]

13 minutes ago, lavender19 said:

This has been going on for years here. A friend of mine from Samui took it to the court of human rights a few years back. It was thrown out. So you have no chance with the bunch of #*"ts that are in at the moment 

Not surprising. the Carson case from 2002 was based on human rights and failed.

The strongest case would be under the current equality laws with personal circumstances a significant factor.

The discrimination has been more definitive against some more than others.

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  I have friends in the UK on wating lists for treatment and their appointment is in over a years time .

   Some wait years for an operation 

Depends where they live and what they need doing.

[Blueman1]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I retired from full time work over 25 years ago.

Did a bit of part time for another 6 years (60 days/year).

Done nothing at all for the past 18 years.

Then You must've WON The Lottery !!

[norsurin]

Reading this im really happy im not from UK My pension will not get frozed if i move to Thailand.

I reached my top pension after working 40 years in my country.My pension raise every year.

Im shocked how low the UK pension is compared to my pension.My pension is about 4500 £ a month.

I could live a wery good easy life in Thailand but i choose not to.I stay there 4-5 months a year and thats enough.

I lived in Thailand before for 6 years but then i worked offshore in neighbor countries.

 

[simon43]

13 minutes ago, Reddavy said:

If you can do all that on 40,000 bht per month you must be living in a dump and live on a bowl of rice a day or never go out. 

Lol, I'm on the 15th floor of a newish condo, 300 metres from Jomtien Beach, 7k baht/month. My Vios costs 8k/month, the air-con house I'll be renting on Koh Phangan is 11k/month (expensive!), my $400k medical is less than 6k/month.

 

When renting property in Thailand, it helps to speak Thai and rent directly from Thais 🙂

[Trip Hop]

7 minutes ago, sandyf said:

One of the greatest acts of discrmination perpetrated by the UK government was "contracting out". Parliament passed an arrangement that benefitted them and only part of the UK population. Under the scheme, the government allowed the "select" to put part of their NI contributions into an occupational/private pension scheme. In 1989 they even bribed some to contract out.

Those that could do so, now get the returns from that part of their NI index liked globally. Those not allowed to contract out had to remain in the government second state pension and then be faced with it being frozen in certain jurisdictions.

 

From recollection and a quick search to confirm my memory, not entirely true.  Contracting out SERPS was initially brought in for members of defined benefit (DB) schemes but later expanded to anyone who was in an appropriate government approved private or employer pension.  True that if the 2% reduction in NI was paid into a suitable scheme as required and invested in certain funds, it will have brought benefits.  However many lost out either through their money being invested in investment funds that didn't perform well or cashed in at the wrong time such as a stock market crash resulting in a lot of class actions for wrongful information being brought against the financial institutions that persuaded them to opt out.

[Muhendis]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The UK government, however, maintains that adjusting overseas pensions would cost nearly £1 billion annually.

That is a pathetic argument.

If all these pensioners returned to the UK, it would still cost the government £1 billion annually.

It would be a good job if the expats were to exercise their voting right and vote for the politicians who would support them.  

[BritManToo]

Just now, Muhendis said:

would be a good job if the expats were to exercise their voting right and vote for the politicians who would support them.  

Don't think there are any that support pension rises for expats.

[Reddavy]

3 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Lol, I'm on the 15th floor of a newish condo, 300 metres from Jomtien Beach, 7k baht/month. My Vios costs 8k/month, the air-con house I'll be renting on Koh Phangan is 11k/month (expensive!), my $400k medical is less than 6k/month.

 

When renting property in Thailand, it helps to speak Thai and rent directly from Thais 🙂

So you have about 8,000 bht left per month to live on. Wow you must be living the dream. 😱😱

[Blueman1]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Don't think there are any that support pension rises for expats.

You Know What M8, You could well be Correct with that assumption.....

[GarryP]

16 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  I have friends in the UK on wating lists for treatment and their appointment is in over a years time .

   Some wait years for an operation 

I think location plays a big role. My dad only waited two weeks for his cataract surgery. 

[Blueman1]

2 minutes ago, Reddavy said:

So you have about 8,000 bht left per month to live on. Wow you must be living the dream. 😱😱

Yeah, That " Just About " Covers his Food Bill,So How is he Paying for his Beers ??

[Trip Hop]

33 minutes ago, Blueman1 said:

But Why Would She have an IDLR Visa ?? He's Said his Wife has NEVER Even been to The U.K. 

 

Missed that bit and very strange how anyone can pay NI without an NI Number for which you need to have at least a spousal visa and be in the UK? 

[Surasak]

4 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

 

No it is not. He is more likely to be being paid out more than what he paid in. It is an acknowledged fact that National Insurance contributions do not fully cover the cost of pension payouts for the majority of beneficiaries. It is not the UK taxpayer's fault that Thailand did not agree to a social security agreement with the UK. The EEA group of nations, the Philippines , much of the  larger Commonwealth Caribbean countries, Turkey and the USA  have an agreement.   He picked Thailand, a nation without an agreement.

 

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.

 

As a resident of Thailand, he is not paying any UK income tax is he? He pays his tax in Thailand, and most likely is at a lower tax rate than in the UK.  None of what he receives is  spent in the UK in  goods and services nor paid in taxes to the crown.

 

The pensioners in the UK are  paying taxes in the UK  on their income in excess of  £12,570 and they pay VAT and  many, pay council tax either in full or in part. The cost of living is higher for UK residents than it is for Thailand residents.  The UK pensioners spend their pensions in the UK  and many have a part  of their pensions clawed back by the UK government. 

 

Anyone earning over £12,570 in the UK, be it pension or from work, WILL pay tax to the UK government. Because this guy lives in Thailand does not exempt him from that fact.

I could be a few hundred per month better off is such were the case.

I would suggest you amend your post to make that clear.

[Blueman1]

2 minutes ago, Trip Hop said:

 

Missed that bit and very strange how anyone can pay NI without an NI Number for which you need to have at least a spousal visa and be in the UK? 

555 !! You Must've been Asleep in Yer DWP Doorway......

[Nick Carter icp]

5 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

That is a pathetic argument.

If all these pensioners returned to the UK, it would still cost the government £1 billion annually.

It would be a good job if the expats were to exercise their voting right and vote for the politicians who would support them.  

 

   Politicians would lose lots of local support from voters if they stood on the manifesto of increasing pensions for people living in  foreign Countries 

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, Trip Hop said:

A common misunderstanding about NI and your state pension which is actually funded from taxation receipts.

A common misunderstanding is people thinking the "state pensions" are funded from income tax.

There is no such thing as the "state pension" it is a collective term for various pension payments.

The Retirement Pension was funded by NI contributions as specified in the 1946 National Insurance Act, only the shortfall in contributions is funded from income tax.

[Reddavy]

14 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   You can see a G.P immediately who would then refer you to a hospital for treatment, that hospital treatment could take years to actually get an appointment .

   G.P - Immediately .

  Hospital treatment - Years

In my doctors it takes 2-3 weeks for an appointment if it’s an emergency they tell you to go to local hospital AE department 🙈

[roo860]

Same story repeats itself every couple of months 

[simon43]

8 minutes ago, Reddavy said:

So you have about 8,000 bht left per month to live on. Wow you must be living the dream. 😱😱

Nope, I currently have 8,000 baht + 87,000 baht each month to live on (I teach science online). But I find that I easily live an enjoyable and healthy life with just that 8k.  How much does it cost to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh chicken etc?  Next to nothing.  I rarely buy beer, don't smoke or waste money on women.  Zero stress that way 🙂

[emptypockets]

3 hours ago, billd766 said:

Whilst I agree with your conclusion, I would have suggest that he was foolish more than a moron.

 

quote from the OP

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:
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.

 

As a former banker he should have known better

As a former banker he may have spent his life watching fellow Brits suffer...interest rates, mortgages etc.

Now it's his turn to feel the pain.

[Reddavy]

5 minutes ago, Blueman1 said:

Yeah, That " Just About " Covers his Food Bill,So How is he Paying for his Beers ??

Drinks water only. What a great life he lives for sure. 

[Surasak]

4 hours ago, impulse said:

Honest question here...  Other than "I like Thailand" (or the Thai family) what would be the impediment to picking up sticks, cashing in your 400K baht (or 800K) and moving to the Philippines?  I'm looking more for a comparison of the legal and financial hurdles than a discussion of the relative merits of life in LOS vs Phils..  Is that even doable?

 

And if a Brit did move to the Phils, would their pension be boosted all at once or would it just start where it was in Thailand and be adjusted each year?

 

 

It would be automatically updated from the day of arrival if the UK DWP were informed of the move.

[Blueman1]

1 minute ago, simon43 said:

Nope, I currently have 8,000 baht + 87,000 baht each month to live on (I teach science online). But I find that I easily live an enjoyable and healthy life with just that 8k 🙂

Ahhhh ! But YOU Never Disclosed THAT Before, Did YOU ??

[Nick Carter icp]

2 minutes ago, Reddavy said:

In my doctors it takes 2-3 weeks for an appointment if it’s an emergency they tell you to go to local hospital AE department 🙈

 

  I am talking about appointments' for hospital treatment , rather than a G.P appointment 

[Reddavy]

1 minute ago, simon43 said:

Nope, I currently have 8,000 baht + 87,000 baht each month to live on (I teach science online). But I find that I easily live an enjoyable and healthy life with just that 8k 🙂

So you have way more than the 40k you posted 🤷🏼 Your original post was complete BS then 🤷🏼

[Powder]

did i read  this well??

a "former" banker?

hmmm.

 

[Blueman1]

1 minute ago, Reddavy said:

Drinks water only. What a great life he lives for sure. 

There's NOW'T Wrong with Water though M8, It's all I can Afford Anyway....

[Blueman1]

1 minute ago, Reddavy said:

So you have way more than the 40k you posted 🤷🏼 Your original post was complete BS then 🤷🏼

It Certainly WAS !!

[Trip Hop]

3 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

As a former banker he may have spent his life watching fellow Brits suffer...interest rates, mortgages etc.

Now it's his turn to feel the pain.

 

Not necessarily, the term banker is commonly used for both investment bankers and those that just work in as bank.  In the case of the former you might be correct but in the case of the latter definitely not unless well up the management chain.