How The Uk Pension Is Paid To Expats

[chickenslegs]

A friend of mne in the UK just sent me this information:

Copied from the Directgov website (pensions) which may interest some members:-

How the State Pension is paid if you live abroad

If you live abroad then your State Pension can be paid directly into one of the following:

a bank in the country in which you live

a bank or building society in the UK

Payment to a bank in the country where you live

Your State Pension can be paid electronically into any of the following countries: Antigua, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belgium, Canada, Channel Islands, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica (Commonwealth), Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, St Kitts – Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America.

From October 2009 additional countries will be: Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen.

Payment will be made in the local currency of the country in which the bank account is held. No charges are made for this service.

[sunholidaysun1]

What will the exchange rate be if the money is paid in Thai Baht , Low I expect !!

What about Military Pensions ? Any news about those ?

[honey2000]

"Payment will be made in the local currency of the country in which the bank account is held. No charges are made for this service"

my bank HSBC, charge about 600 baht each time, I have changed to 3 month frequency, but maybe the charge is value related.

btw the UK pensions have a great website for doing this sort of thing, there is only one problem..it does not work

By this I mean..a "promise" is made to call you....they never do no matter how many times u submit

My solution, since the "complaint" link was circular, i.e. you always came back to the start.....was to email the webmaster and ask how I might contact the UK Pensions Minister to complain about the structure of the website.

Within a few days I was sent an apologetic email and a call was eventually made.

The whole process took nearly TWO months, had I known I would have snail mailed.

This was back in April, I have yet to receive my 3 months remittance

It seems I'll forgo the money a lot longer before I attempt to check with them.

[sbk]

recd this from the British hon consul:

The option to have British Military pensions paid locally has been available for at least 2 years at a cost of under £3.00 per transaction and at favourable rates of exchange.

2. Recipients of UK Mil pensions were advised of this service by letter from the issuing authority at the beginning of the tax year.

3. Pensions reach Thai accounts 2 WORKING days after being sent.

4. Those seeking further info should see http://www.xafinity.com/Microsites/Xafinit...med-Forces.aspx or contact ex-service organisations in Pattaya/Samui.

[churchill]

Much better if they can transfer Sterling rather than thai baht - you will get a better rate here .

[Daffy D]

Thanks "Chickenslegs" for the info. At the present my UK Government pension is paid into HSBC Jersey.

They charge 20ukp a month because the account is not at a certain level plus a percentage of every ATM withdrawal and now with the Thai banks charging 150Bt for each withdrawal even if the exchange rate is not the best I got to be better off. Will definitely jump on that when it starts in October.

Cheers you're made my day.

[Brigante7]

A friend of mne in the UK just sent me this information:

Copied from the Directgov website (pensions) which may interest some members:-

How the State Pension is paid if you live abroad

If you live abroad then your State Pension can be paid directly into one of the following:

a bank in the country in which you live

a bank or building society in the UK

Payment to a bank in the country where you live

Your State Pension can be paid electronically into any of the following countries: Antigua, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belgium, Canada, Channel Islands, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica (Commonwealth), Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, St Kitts â€" Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America.

From October 2009 additional countries will be: Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen.

Payment will be made in the local currency of the country in which the bank account is held. No charges are made for this service.

And the UK goverment will then know that you don't live in the UK and so your pension will be pegged at what it is and so no more increases.

Brigante7.

[personchester]

Thanks "Chickenslegs" for the info. At the present my UK Government pension is paid into HSBC Jersey.

They charge 20ukp a month because the account is not at a certain level plus a percentage of every ATM withdrawal and now with the Thai banks charging 150Bt for each withdrawal even if the exchange rate is not the best I got to be better off. Will definitely jump on that when it starts in October.

Cheers you're made my day.

Daffy, When referring to the British currency do not state 'ukp' the official global referral is GBP.

[prodriver]

A friend of mne in the UK just sent me this information:

Copied from the Directgov website (pensions) which may interest some members:-

How the State Pension is paid if you live abroad

If you live abroad then your State Pension can be paid directly into one of the following:

a bank in the country in which you live

a bank or building society in the UK

Payment to a bank in the country where you live

Your State Pension can be paid electronically into any of the following countries: Antigua, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belgium, Canada, Channel Islands, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica (Commonwealth), Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, St Kitts â€" Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America.

From October 2009 additional countries will be: Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen.

Payment will be made in the local currency of the country in which the bank account is held. No charges are made for this service.

And the UK goverment will then know that you don't live in the UK and so your pension will be pegged at what it is and so no more increases.

Brigante7.

Well lets keep our fingers crossed for a positive result for 2nd September when the 'freezing' of the pensions goes up for appeal in the European Court.

[astral]

Thanks "Chickenslegs" for the info. At the present my UK Government pension is paid into HSBC Jersey.

They charge 20ukp a month because the account is not at a certain level

I suggest you open an account with Royal Bank of Scotland.

No minimum balance!!

My pension is due in 2.5 years time.

[Daffy D]

"personchester" wrote:-

Daffy, When referring to the British currency do not state 'ukp' the official global referral is GBP.

Guess I was just too exited at the news

"astral" wrote:-

I suggest you open an account with Royal Bank of Scotland.

No minimum balance!!

AFAIK all banks on the mainland require a UK address. I was able to open the Jersey account from Thailand with my Thai address.

[PattayaParent]

Daffy,

RBS have an offshore banking centre too.

It's good for sterling banking but not for USD.

[chiang mai]

"personchester" wrote:-

Daffy, When referring to the British currency do not state 'ukp' the official global referral is GBP.

Guess I was just too exited at the news

"astral" wrote:-

I suggest you open an account with Royal Bank of Scotland.

No minimum balance!!

AFAIK all banks on the mainland require a UK address. I was able to open the Jersey account from Thailand with my Thai address.

Not strictly true. I'm in the UK currently and have just been able to change the address on my UK account with HSBC to my home address in Thailand, they were perfectly happy with that.

[Daffy D]

It's all academic now but at the time of my pension starting I did NOT have a UK address NOR a UK bank account and the only bank I could persuade to open an account FROM Thailand with ONLY A THAI ADDRESS that the UK government pension office would pay into was HSBC in Jersey.

I've been in touch with the Pension Office and they said:-

The date we can start paying to banks in Thailand will be 19 October 2009. The Department plans to contact customers living in Thailand at the beginning of October to offer this alternative method of payment. We will not be able to take any new bank details until nearer this time.