British Government Can Now Pay Pension Direct To Thai Bank

[Jezz]

It has now been confirmed that Thailand is on the list of countries that the UK Department Of Work And Pensions can pay the retirement pension direct to your bank in Thailand. There is no charge! Money will be remitted in Thai currency. This information is now on their recently revamped website. They will even telephone you back once you have requested the service to prove identity and details before making any changes.

[thetefldon]

This is indeed good news. Although I have to wait a couple of years yet! My only concern is that the transfer is in Thai Baht-so the exchange rate will be poor. Thanks for sharing.

[billd766]

Can you change your mind and revert back to being paid in the UK and getting the bank to transfer in Sterling?

[Brigante7]

Great news and now the UK dictatorship, sorry meant goverment, will know that you don't live in the UK and so bang goes any increase in your pension.

Brigante7.

[Tafia]

Great news and now the UK dictatorship, sorry meant goverment, will know that you don't live in the UK and so bang goes any increase in your pension.

Brigante7.

That is always the issue, and we are still waiting the outcome of the European Court (decision next March I believe) though I shudder to think of the consequences should they find out you have been lying to them regarding your whereabouts....personally I dont think its worth the hassle but each to their own, and I understand those who do and who have to rely on their state pension to assist or meet living costs without the added security of a works or private pension.

[Tafia]

Can you change your mind and revert back to being paid in the UK and getting the bank to transfer in Sterling?

I believe you can decide where you want it paid, but you cannot have 6 mths Thailand 6 mths UK.

Check out the website, its all there.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Tafia

[Jezz]

Can you change your mind and revert back to being paid in the UK and getting the bank to transfer in Sterling?

Why not? There's a choice. I accept some won't find the direct payment attractive if you maintain a UK address for the same old reasons. But if you're officially non-resident this is a good option.

[chiang mai]

The key to this is whether you will be paid in Sterling or Thai Baht, if they convert to Thai Baht in the UK expect a large loss on the transaction.

[taxin]

Is this very recent news ?

According to the website Thailand is NOT on the list.....

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/social...st-of-countries

Can anyone provide any other link to clarify this story ?

[Tafia]

Is this very recent news ?

According to the website Thailand is NOT on the list.....

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/social...st-of-countries

Can anyone provide any other link to clarify this story ?

Check out Direct.gov.uk

Its all on the website, only commenced October this year.

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.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Tafia

[Tafia]

The key to this is whether you will be paid in Sterling or Thai Baht, if they convert to Thai Baht in the UK expect a large loss on the transaction.

A lot will depend how and when they do it, I know of people who have their Civil Service pensions paid direct and the difference in the exchange is minimal

Edited October 3, 2009 by Tafia

[taxin]

Do incapacity benefits come under the same bracket in terms of having your benefits transferred to Thailand ?

[chiang mai]

Do incapacity benefits come under the same bracket in terms of having your benefits transferred to Thailand ?

I will be very surprised if that is the case since "they" typically want to be able to actually"see" claimants, which would be difficult to do if they are outside of the UK.

[taxin]

Do incapacity benefits come under the same bracket in terms of having your benefits transferred to Thailand ?

I will be very surprised if that is the case since "they" typically want to be able to actually"see" claimants, which would be difficult to do if they are outside of the UK.

You would think so but then again maybe not. Some people on incapacity benefits are practically "written off" indefinitely, particularly older people who are just outside the age bracket for the state pension.

[RAZZELL]

Do incapacity benefits come under the same bracket in terms of having your benefits transferred to Thailand ?

I will be very surprised if that is the case since "they" typically want to be able to actually"see" claimants, which would be difficult to do if they are outside of the UK.

You would think so but then again maybe not. Some people on incapacity benefits are practically "written off" indefinitely, particularly older people who are just outside the age bracket for the state pension.

I don't believe you can claim "Disability Living Allowance" when you are outside the European Economic Area or Switzerland.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople...pport/DG_073387

Although I have read you can claim for up to 26 weeks or if you're seeking treatment for your "illness" in that country.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople...ort/DG_10012424

RAZZ

Edited October 4, 2009 by RAZZELL

[planemad]

Tafia -" know of people who have their Civil Service pensions paid direct and the difference in the exchange is minimal"

The same seems to be true for military pensions which have also been paid diirectly. This is a recent addition, maybe within the last 12 months.

Edited October 4, 2009 by planemad

[ESB7]

Do incapacity benefits come under the same bracket in terms of having your benefits transferred to Thailand ?

Incapacity benefits are only available to those resident in the U.K. so there should be no need for them to be paid to Thailand unless the person is making a fradulant claim.

[Chaimai]

The key to this is whether you will be paid in Sterling or Thai Baht, if they convert to Thai Baht in the UK expect a large loss on the transaction.

Why should you assume that this will automatically be the case ?

I would 'trust' the Pension Service (rather than a UK bank) )to apply a fair rate. I am also sure that GBP to Thailand would be an option if you wanted it.

[chiang mai]

The key to this is whether you will be paid in Sterling or Thai Baht, if they convert to Thai Baht in the UK expect a large loss on the transaction.

Why should you assume that this will automatically be the case ?

I would 'trust' the Pension Service (rather than a UK bank) )to apply a fair rate. I am also sure that GBP to Thailand would be an option if you wanted it.

Simply because foreign currency exchange rates in the UK, from every source I have ever seen, incur huge margins - high street banks, building societies and forex services such as Travelex all rely on making a substantial profit when converting currency. Whilst I would like to think that the Pension Service might wish to be fair in this respect I doubt that they actually want to be in the forex business hence the conversion will likely be outsourced to a bank or similar and margins will be a factor. For me personally I would much rather have GBP and be in a position to convert it as, when and where I see fit.

[Bagwan]

When considering exchange rates do factor in transfer charges. It will be interesting to hear what exchange rate the Pension Service will use and whether any shortfall difference is less than the transfer charges levied by UK banks or even Thai banks. Read the following.

When UOB was my only banker here I queried why charges had been made locally when I had specifically asked that they be applied in the UK. UOB insisted that they had made no charge even though my passbook stated otherwise. BoS stated that they had only deducted the normal amount so I went back to UOB and asked for the routing instructions and paperwork. Cannot was the reply. They in Bkk. Well &^%$#%&*()&% send for them I said. I am fully entitled to know who is taking my money. When I received a copy 10 minutes later, they apparently remembering what a FAX machine is for, all became clear.

BoS has no buddy buddy bank based in Thailand so they send the money to Barclays Bank in London. (Barclays Bank. Ugh. Spit. Fetch me the Listerine terak). Barclays (more Listerine sweetheart) have a buddy buddy relationship with KTB so they remit the money there. KTB charge, if memory serves me, 600 baht plus a percentage if the money is a substantial amount, to transfer the money to UOB. In my case KTB was charging me more than BoS was! There was an obvious way round this. Open a KTB account so that no additional transfer charge is levied. I then draw most of the money in cash and walk down the road and deposit in UOB.

It follows that peeps need to know to whom the Pension Service or their agents, or indeed their own UK bank, remit monies to in Thailand. I think that HSBC and Nat West get into bed with Kbank but my memory is not as good as it was.

[pkrv]

Actually the critical issue is your pension will be frozen, the UK are suggesting that your pension can be paid into Thailand. Regardless of the rate on offer, if you pension is frozen for the next x years, then you formally notified to the UK government it will be, and as such they can legally default on their payments to you, but in a more cost effective manner. Check out court cases in the EU court of human rights they can and do, do this. They will and actively chose to default by not index linking.

The UK government will default. You will receive thrupence hapenny (got the spelling wrong not my stong pint) in benefits in a few years time, or perhaps less than that – It's not indexed linked - you will not be even able to buy a beer. Do you know the UK was embarrassed when it found its citizens living in a cave in Cyprus, a part of the empire no less. True story their pension's were reduced to almost 0 over time, so of course people did not notice.

Edited November 26, 2009 by pkrv

[prakhonchai nick]

Having looked through this topic I would imagine the majority of posters are currently in receipt of UK State Pension

ARE YOU ALL RECEIVING THE EXTRA ALLOWANCE FOR YOUR THAI WIVES?

This extra benefit can only be claimed up till 5th April 2010, and will then continue to be paid for up to 10 years. If you don't claim before 5th April next (or are unable to because you are not 65), there won't be another chance.

PM me for more info if it applies to you

[Chaimai]

Having looked through this topic I would imagine the majority of posters are currently in receipt of UK State Pension

ARE YOU ALL RECEIVING THE EXTRA ALLOWANCE FOR YOUR THAI WIVES?

This extra benefit can only be claimed up till 5th April 2010, and will then continue to be paid for up to 10 years. If you don't claim before 5th April next (or are unable to because you are not 65), there won't be another chance.

PM me for more info if it applies to you

How much is this 'extra' allowance ?

[prakhonchai nick]

Thank you for your interest Chaimai

The allowance (or dependents benefit as it is called) can be as much as £57 a WEEK if you have full NI contributions (44). This allowance will be paid until April 2020, or until your wife reaches 62 if earlier. Over this period you could expect to receive 1,500,000bt+

The claim will likely take 3/4 months to process, and will require many translated and certified documents -and patience. If you are interested I have successfully obtained this allowance for a number of Thai based farangs, and can offer you this service for a nominal inclusive fee.

No claims will be entertained after 5th April next.

[Chaimai]

The key to this is whether you will be paid in Sterling or Thai Baht, if they convert to Thai Baht in the UK expect a large loss on the transaction.

Why should you assume that this will automatically be the case ?

I would 'trust' the Pension Service (rather than a UK bank) )to apply a fair rate. I am also sure that GBP to Thailand would be an option if you wanted it.

Simply because foreign currency exchange rates in the UK, from every source I have ever seen, incur huge margins - high street banks, building societies and forex services such as Travelex all rely on making a substantial profit when converting currency. Whilst I would like to think that the Pension Service might wish to be fair in this respect I doubt that they actually want to be in the forex business hence the conversion will likely be outsourced to a bank or similar and margins will be a factor. For me personally I would much rather have GBP and be in a position to convert it as, when and where I see fit.

I agree entirely with your last sentence - I would much rather be in control of when I convert. However, if someone needs all their pension for living expenses I think it is good to have the option of the transfer to Thailand.

[Chaimai]

Thank you for your interest Chaimai

The allowance (or dependents benefit as it is called) can be as much as £57 a WEEK if you have full NI contributions (44). This allowance will be paid until April 2020, or until your wife reaches 62 if earlier. Over this period you could expect to receive 1,500,000bt+

The claim will likely take 3/4 months to process, and will require many translated and certified documents -and patience. If you are interested I have successfully obtained this allowance for a number of Thai based farangs, and can offer you this service for a nominal inclusive fee.

No claims will be entertained after 5th April next.

Thanks for that - PM to follow with details.

[billd766]

Thank you for your interest Chaimai

The allowance (or dependents benefit as it is called) can be as much as £57 a WEEK if you have full NI contributions (44). This allowance will be paid until April 2020, or until your wife reaches 62 if earlier. Over this period you could expect to receive 1,500,000bt+

The claim will likely take 3/4 months to process, and will require many translated and certified documents -and patience. If you are interested I have successfully obtained this allowance for a number of Thai based farangs, and can offer you this service for a nominal inclusive fee.

No claims will be entertained after 5th April next.

AFAIK in order for the benefit to be paid your wife requires a National Insurance number which requires you to send her original birth certificate to the Department of Pensions in the UK. I used the EMS post.

They will get it translated and return the original to you by a courier company.

When they have done some work on it the send it to the Department of National Insurance (sorry but I am not sure of the correct name) and they take 8 to 10 weeks to complete their part.

They then confirm your wife's NI number to the DoP who then come back to you and it will be backdated to the date you receive your pension OR depending on how long you left the claim for a period of time that they determine.

I started mine off in June myself and I am still waiting so don't hold your breath for an instant fix.

[prakhonchai nick]

AFAIK in order for the benefit to be paid your wife requires a National Insurance number which requires you to send her original birth certificate to the Department of Pensions in the UK. I used the EMS post.

They will get it translated and return the original to you by a courier company.

When they have done some work on it the send it to the Department of National Insurance (sorry but I am not sure of the correct name) and they take 8 to 10 weeks to complete their part.

They then confirm your wife's NI number to the DoP who then come back to you and it will be backdated to the date you receive your pension OR depending on how long you left the claim for a period of time that they determine.

I started mine off in June myself and I am still waiting so don't hold your breath for an instant fix.

My documents, and those of others I have assisted were all returned through normal postal channels. One set of documents reached the pensions dept (I have proof of this) but have become lost within the pensions office complex in Newcastle. New certified copies have had to be provided adding to the normal delay. Once the pension is sorted I propose claiming compensation for lost documents.

Stick to certified copies! THEY WILL ACCEPT THEM! Costs more at the outset but worth it.

[Bagwan]

I claim hero status as recently the Pension Service finally got their act together and transferred 5860 GBP to my offshore bank as they finally acknowledged I had been underpaid. My 4 weekly payment has also been upped by 120 GBP. It has taken 2 1/2 years to get a result and I guess that they only stepped on the gas because I stated that if the matter was not resolved by 1st November I intend to make a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Two events are worth recalling. The morons that inhabit the Newcastle HQ lost the copy of my marriage certificate and asked for another. I provided this and a translation certified by my lawyer. Asking by telephone why there was a total lack of action I was told that they were having the document verified and translated. I pointed out that they had been given a translation and I was told very tartly they they preferred to use their own translators. I expressed the wish that the translator was more motivated and efficient than the other staff appeared to be.

As part of the delaying process all the required documents are not requested at the same time but piecemeal. Although they had verified copies of my wife's ID card (they ask for the original but I pointed out that in Thai law she must carry it at all times - surely they must know that by now), they wanted verified copies of her birth certificate. Herself said she didn't have a clue where it was so off we went to Pattaya City Hall to see if we could get a replacement. We were directed to Banglamung Amphur who, helpful as ever directed, us to Prakhon Chai Amphur. Apparently online computers and/or telex hasn't reached local government yet. At Prakhon Chai they said that they had no record of her birth (part of election fraud?) and we would have to bring before them two close relatives and the local Headman to verify that she was in fact herself. What purpose does an ID card serve you might ask. The two relatives were rounded up but the local Headman was in BKK on business. His deputy said that he would only attend if he was paid 5K baht and I refused to pay up. All this was related to the Pensions Service and I asked if they really wanted me to put myself at risk of imprisonment for bribery to satisfy their over zealous requirements. I also pointed out that any information on a replacement birth certificate would be copied from my wife's ID card, thus the affair resembled a script written by Spike Milligan. I asked that if the person dealing with my application did not have the authority to make a sensible decision that the matter be placed before somebody that did. My guess is that the Ombudsman threat , the attendant possibility of public disclosure and that they would have to meet all the cost of an inquiry did the trick.

I now await the issue of a Social Security number for her that does the ironing. I shall be replenishing my ready use ammunition lockers until early in the New Year when maybe I shall be forced to let loose further broadsides.

[prakhonchai nick]

I applaud you Bagwan. A man after my own heart. I have used implied threats in the past and they do bring results.

Obtaining the NI number usually takes 8-12 weeks, and then you should receive the benefit.

Since "her indoors" is from Prakhonchai should you ever find yourself there do pop into to Coffee Corner on the edge of the bus station. It is the local farang meeting point, and was heaving last night.

I claim hero status as recently the Pension Service finally got their act together and transferred 5860 GBP to my offshore bank as they finally acknowledged I had been underpaid. My 4 weekly payment has also been upped by 120 GBP. It has taken 2 1/2 years to get a result and I guess that they only stepped on the gas because I stated that if the matter was not resolved by 1st November I intend to make a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Two events are worth recalling. The morons that inhabit the Newcastle HQ lost the copy of my marriage certificate and asked for another. I provided this and a translation certified by my lawyer. Asking by telephone why there was a total lack of action I was told that they were having the document verified and translated. I pointed out that they had been given a translation and I was told very tartly they they preferred to use their own translators. I expressed the wish that the translator was more motivated and efficient than the other staff appeared to be.

As part of the delaying process all the required documents are not requested at the same time but piecemeal. Although they had verified copies of my wife's ID card (they ask for the original but I pointed out that in Thai law she must carry it at all times - surely they must know that by now), they wanted verified copies of her birth certificate. Herself said she didn't have a clue where it was so off we went to Pattaya City Hall to see if we could get a replacement. We were directed to Banglamung Amphur who, helpful as ever directed, us to Prakhon Chai Amphur. Apparently online computers and/or telex hasn't reached local government yet. At Prakhon Chai they said that they had no record of her birth (part of election fraud?) and we would have to bring before them two close relatives and the local Headman to verify that she was in fact herself. What purpose does an ID card serve you might ask. The two relatives were rounded up but the local Headman was in BKK on business. His deputy said that he would only attend if he was paid 5K baht and I refused to pay up. All this was related to the Pensions Service and I asked if they really wanted me to put myself at risk of imprisonment for bribery to satisfy their over zealous requirements. I also pointed out that any information on a replacement birth certificate would be copied from my wife's ID card, thus the affair resembled a script written by Spike Milligan. I asked that if the person dealing with my application did not have the authority to make a sensible decision that the matter be placed before somebody that did. My guess is that the Ombudsman threat , the attendant possibility of public disclosure and that they would have to meet all the cost of an inquiry did the trick.

I now await the issue of a Social Security number for her that does the ironing. I shall be replenishing my ready use ammunition lockers until early in the New Year when maybe I shall be forced to let loose further broadsides.