21 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

500k old codgers (a good proportion of which lost the right to vote years ago) are not a powerful motivation for politicians.

On the bright side the 15-year limit on voting rights has been cancelled. You can once more vote in UK elections.

On 6/6/2026 at 9:21 AM, iqinternet said:

I use myukpost.com so I get a legal uk address ... so all my correspondence goes there and they scan my post daily and my prescriptions posted monthly... so I still get my triple lock

I looked at that, but in the end decided to come clean and have sent them a letter saying I am living in Thailand, I don't think the triple lock will stay, and any increases will be smaller. Better than being caught and put back to the rate when you moved here

"UK pensioners in Thailand are now under "enhanced scrutiny" due to OECD Common Reporting Standards (CRS) between UK and Thailand

Thai banks automatically share financial information with UK authorities (2023–2025 implementation), making it easier to detect false UK addresses"

https://isaanlawyers.com/uk-voting-frozen-pensions-new-tax-rules/

47 minutes ago, BeastOfBodmin said:

On the bright side the 15-year limit on voting rights has been cancelled. You can once more vote in UK elections.

Thanks, I missed that.

Unfortunately, it will still make no difference as no politician has the motivation to try and effect a change (the minister who did, bottled it - and even worse he prevented our partners getting Bereavement Payments). Obviously, there is no sympathy for us from UK residents.

21 hours ago, SamSpade said:

I'd have nightmares if I was back in the UK & having to pay tax on my investment income/Capital Gains but we all manage our pensions in our own way...

I'm asset rich & Pension poor because I've worked overseas since 2008 & have had to make my own pension provisions (In those days SIPP wasn't a thing so I invested in a General Investment Account), I have kept my voluntary NI contributions up to date so hopefully will get SP when I hit 67.

What I was trying to highlight is that for some of us the tax savings on ensuring the UK government knows that we don't live in the UK far outweigh any annual State Pension increases.

Fun fact, I turned 60 in Feb & am currently enjoying receiving part of my State Pension, It's not from the government it's from a Bank I used to work for that compensated it's male employees for retiring at 60 (Mandatory when I joined) who couldn't get State Pension until they were 65 whereas (Until 2018) Females recieved the SP at 60.

Will suck when I do hit 67 as that part of my private pension will get cancelled.

Then it is not a "state pension"

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

My pension has risen by around 25% in the past four years.

(10%, 8%, 4%, 4% not in any order)

Yep.

..and your only offence is making a false declaration.

Nobody, as in not a single person has been charged with fraud for that heinous crime.

The worst result is a requirement to repay overpayments - good luck to them with that one in trying to establish exactly when you became non-resident.

I came clean last year because I was concerned about departmental exchange of information - and I don't want them to delve too deeply into my tax returns.

I got a letter from HMRC recently that confirmed I will get the maximum when I turn 67 (I've paid in more than 30 years). I still have a couple of years to go to collect it, so it might be even better by then. I have other income so I'm not worried about the lack of indexation due to non residency. Being fully non resident (not a sausage in the UK) is much more valuable than having one foot still in there and paying annual income tax.

32 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Yep.

..and your only offence is making a false declaration.

Not even that, as I have never made any declarations at all.

Of course people forget that, as far as I know, only one party has committed to unfreezing overseas pensions. That was Labour in 2019, under Jeremy Corbyn. Obviously they didn't win and it has never been back in a Labour manifesto!

https://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/wmatrix/ukmanifestos2019/localpdf/Labour.pdf (page76)

"We will ensure that the pensions of UK citizens living overseas rise in line with pensions in Britain."

Just the thought, an international manhunt for unfrozen pensioners worldwide by the DWP ,but particularly Thailand,is madness on the hoof,...pages of the stuff here,not a hope in hell will anybody captured/disembowelled/executed...sheer madness to suggest anything of the sort,its its its so small beer its pathetic

3 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Of course people forget that, as far as I know, only one party has committed to unfreezing overseas pensions. That was Labour in 2019, under Jeremy Corbyn. Obviously they didn't win and it has never been back in a Labour manifesto!

https://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/wmatrix/ukmanifestos2019/localpdf/Labour.pdf (page76)

"We will ensure that the pensions of UK citizens living overseas rise in line with pensions in Britain."

I wonder what stand Farage would take if he became PM? Because all previous Governments don't seem to have been concerned to any degree. They have talked about it in pre election speeches, but that is as far as it has gone.

This is really amazing news. Societal leeches. Oh no! what will we do without overweight, low iq, can't speak thai, don't assimilate to culture peoples. the only group that will be sad are the pattaya sex workers. Back to UK, better brush up on your arabic, allah akbar!

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Not even that, as I have never made any declarations at all.

I suspect you are better than that, and fully understand that not advising your change of circumstances is exactly the same as a false declaration.

That is exactly what I did for 5 years - but I never hid behind ignorance of the law... I did it fully understanding my breach.

9 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

I got a letter from HMRC recently that confirmed I will get the maximum when I turn 67 (I've paid in more than 30 years). I still have a couple of years to go to collect it, so it might be even better by then. I have other income so I'm not worried about the lack of indexation due to non residency. Being fully non resident (not a sausage in the UK) is much more valuable than having one foot still in there and paying annual income tax.

Obviously, you will pay tax on income derived in the UK if your state pension, and 'other income' exceeds your tax allowance - currently £12,570.

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5 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

I suspect you are better than that, and fully understand that not advising your change of circumstances is exactly the same as a false declaration.

That is exactly what I did for 5 years - but I never hid behind ignorance of the law... I did it fully understanding my breach.

The law works on technicalities, and I've always found the 'exact details' to be the correct way to get judgements in my favour.

Sorry you don't understand that.

10 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

Obviously, you will pay tax on income derived in the UK if your state pension, and 'other income' exceeds your tax allowance - currently £12,570.

Well, maybe you know something I don't, but if you are 100% non resident in the UK (no home or rental property there, no businesses), you wouldn't be paying any tax there. You'd be paying the tax in the territory where you reside. But if you do have links to the UK like above, some vehicles or RV equipment, or a family there that you provide for, those ties are considered factual/deemed residency.

On 6/6/2026 at 3:21 PM, sambum said:

But you forget that many of these pensioners (myself included) paid into the system for more than 40 years in National Insurance contributions in order to qualify for the State Pension.

The UK is the only country I know that punishes their pensioners for living abroad ("frozen" pensions) and without ploughing through all the replies to this post, we must save the Government millions of pounds by virtue of the fact that we live abroad and do not have the benefits of the National Health Service, and have to pay for all our medications. And yes, we should have medical insurance, but some of us are too old to even be accepted by the Insurance companies, and for those of us that can get insurance, the list of pre existing conditions makes it hardly worth while to pay a few thousand pounds every year when you would be lucky to get paid out for a sprained ankle!

Indeed. The government in the Carson case stated that those overseas were not in the same material position as those in the UK, no UK tax, lower cost of living, benefits from host government etc etc.

One thing that has never been acknowledged is the superior position of those in the UK with free healthcare.

From Carson v UK

" Differences between countries as regards the rates of inflation, interest and currency exchange further made it difficult to compare the position of residents and non-residents and justified differences in treatment as regards pension up-rating."

9 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Well, maybe you know something I don't, but if you are 100% non resident in the UK (no home or rental property there, no businesses), you wouldn't be paying any tax there. You'd be paying the tax in the territory where you reside. But if you do have links to the UK like above, some vehicles or RV equipment, or a family there that you provide for, those ties are considered factual/deemed residency.

All income generated in the UK is taxed in the UK.

So clearly we do know something you don't know.

20 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

Obviously, there is no sympathy for us from UK residents.

The government have waged a very successful campaign, primarily based on misinformation, to sway public opinion against those abroad.

Many believe those overseas don't pay any tax, everything is dirt cheap and you get state benefits from the host nation.

My brother, RIP, lived in Canada and had a Canadian pension so nobody would be in favour of him getting a UK pension far less the increases.

It is the uncommon instances like that the government has used to distort the rhetoric.

11 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

Obviously, you will pay tax on income derived in the UK if your state pension, and 'other income' exceeds your tax allowance - currently £12,570.

UK Property Rental income - ALWAYS.

UK Pension Income - YES (Unless you can get an "NT" tax code which is proving to be very difficult from Thailand)

Any income from Investments (Dividends, Interest, CGT etc...) - NO (Disregarded Income).

Nor will your Heirs pay any IHT on "Excluded Property" which includes FOTRA Investments (E.g. UK Government GIlts) & some ETFs held on offshore Platforms (E.g. Some ETFs bought on the Irish Exchange, NB you can buy & own these in your UK Brokerage account).

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm04251

Edit: List of FOTRA Invesments https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm04306

30 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

All income generated in the UK is taxed in the UK.

So clearly we do know something you don't know.

See post above...

On 6/6/2026 at 8:19 AM, CecilM said:

Makes sense. Since you don't spend the pension money in the UK, why should the gov't support your overseas lifestyle?

That does make sense, but only if the government doesn't take taxes from it.

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

Indeed. The government in the Carson case stated that those overseas were not in the same material position as those in the UK, no UK tax, lower cost of living, benefits from host government etc etc.

One thing that has never been acknowledged is the superior position of those in the UK with free healthcare.

From Carson v UK

" Differences between countries as regards the rates of inflation, interest and currency exchange further made it difficult to compare the position of residents and non-residents and justified differences in treatment as regards pension up-rating."

Just as a matter of interest, I still pay UK tax, and get NO benefits from my host Government (or expect to). But I do expect to be treated the same as any other pensioner who has paid into the system for more than 40 years! As regards the currency exchange rate, when I first moved to Thailand (my host country) the exchange rate was 73 baht to 1 GBP - it is now 43 baht to 1 GBP - almost halved in value! So apart from no annual increments to my State Pension (I do get an annual increase to my small works pension, and they don't care where I live - I'm entitled to it so I get it - the same as pensioners that live in the UK), apart from paying UK tax on my works pension, apart from no benefits from my host Government, apart from having to pay for all my medications (which I would get free in the UK) I am managing to survive! (If I hadn't sold my house in the UK a few years ago, it would be a far bleaker picture - and no, I didn't get a fantastic amount from the sale of my house - after the mortgage was paid off, I was left with about 50K GBP)

So, I do feel a bit aggrieved that every other country in Europe (as far as I know) pays its pensioners annual increments, regardless of where they live, and also I believe that the rate of State Pension in the UK is the lowest in Europe.

However, I can not complain about the weather! 😊

3 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Well, maybe you know something I don't, but if you are 100% non resident in the UK (no home or rental property there, no businesses), you wouldn't be paying any tax there. You'd be paying the tax in the territory where you reside. But if you do have links to the UK like above, some vehicles or RV equipment, or a family there that you provide for, those ties are considered factual/deemed residency.

No, I have no links in the UK that you mention, but I do have a UK works pension that I pay tax on, although I am not resident in the UK!

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

The government have waged a very successful campaign, primarily based on misinformation, to sway public opinion against those abroad.

Many believe those overseas don't pay any tax, everything is dirt cheap and you get state benefits from the host nation.

My brother, RIP, lived in Canada and had a Canadian pension so nobody would be in favour of him getting a UK pension far less the increases.

It is the uncommon instances like that the government has used to distort the rhethoric.

To be fair Sandy, I don't think the government needed to sway opinion. Even the most rational of Brits has little/no interest in our situation.

We are over here, they are over there.

26 minutes ago, sambum said:

No, I have no links in the UK that you mention, but I do have a UK works pension that I pay tax on, although I am not resident in the UK!

Surely you don't expect NOT to pay tax?

3 hours ago, SamSpade said:

UK Property Rental income - ALWAYS.

UK Pension Income - YES (Unless you can get an "NT" tax code which is proving to be very difficult from Thailand)

Any income from Investments (Dividends, Interest, CGT etc...) - NO (Disregarded Income).

Nor will your Heirs pay any IHT on "Excluded Property" which includes FOTRA Investments (E.g. UK Government GIlts) & some ETFs held on offshore Platforms (E.g. Some ETFs bought on the Irish Exchange, NB you can buy & own these in your UK Brokerage account).

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm04251

Edit: List of FOTRA Invesments https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm04306

Then I must be a bit of a mug paying £20k p,a, on my dividends.

4 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Well, maybe you know something I don't, but if you are 100% non resident in the UK (no home or rental property there, no businesses), you wouldn't be paying any tax there. You'd be paying the tax in the territory where you reside. But if you do have links to the UK like above, some vehicles or RV equipment, or a family there that you provide for, those ties are considered factual/deemed residency.

I repeat, any income derived in the UK is subject to taxation.

50 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

I repeat, any income derived in the UK is subject to taxation.

Okay. But how does that work if you are completely non-resident (e.g. meet all the tests to prove it)? Does HMRC deduct an amount each week? Or do they pay the gross amount but then one is required to file a tax return based just on that 12-thousand-odd pounds each year? I've read conflicting pages even on the UK Gov site with some saying a gross amount will be paid while other pages are less clear.

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

Then I must be a bit of a mug paying £20k p,a, on my dividends.

There may be reasons that it's better for you to do that but unless you're a UK Tax Resident then I have no idea why you're paying £20K in Tax - Is any of that withheld income or are the DIvidends from "Non Ordinary" assets, E.g. a Private Company you own?

Overview of Disregarded income...

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-residents-and-investment-income-hs300-self-assessment-helpsheet/hs300-non-residents-and-investment-income-2023

I earn £38K from my (Non-ISA) investments, £20K from Shares, £9K from Gilts & £9K from MMFs and pay no tax on this or on any interest from my Bank accounts / (Non Property) Capital Gains.

If you are paying £20K in Tax (Which is a hell of an income) from "Ordinary" share Dividends, definately worth getting an accountant to do your UK Tax Returns for you, costs approx £250 pa & the money they save me on my UK Rental income alone more than makes up for this.