Uk Pension Payments.

[Kwasaki]

Tried a search without success but I have read that the UK pension can be paid directly into a bank in the country you reside in at no cost but there maybe a cost from the countries Bank that it is paid into.

So my question is :-

The people who live in Thailand permanently and receiving there UK pensions with also there private pension tied to the goverment one if there is one, which have they found the best way or bank in Thailand to do this with.

Regards K

Edited December 30, 2010 by Kwasaki

[Morden]

The UK State Pensions service will pay into a Bank Bangkok account. I'm not aware of any charges.

[Daffy D]

Hi Kwasaki

Yes UK Government Pensions can now be paid directly into a Thai Bank.

I have been doing this since it became possible a year or so ago. Contact the Pension Office and give them your Thai bank details and they will phone you back in a few days to confirm the details and ask some questions to confirm you are really you and the next payment will be made into the Thai Bank. Simple easy and painless.

I'm not aware of any bank charges from either end, and the exchange rate is on par with the going rate of the day.

My pension day is Friday and the money is normally in my Thai account the following Monday, so not bad.

DD.

[Kwasaki]

Thanks for your replies " Morden " & " DD".

So I take it the Bangkok Bank is the only one that does not charge either of you for incoming UK pensions.

I have a joint account with BKB and a sole account with Kasikorn. Thanks.

[Morden]

Thanks for your replies " Morden " & " DD".

So I take it the Bangkok Bank is the only one that does not charge either of you for incoming UK pensions.

I have a joint account with BKB and a sole account with Kasikorn. Thanks.

I know only about Bank Bangkok. UK Pensions told me that they have 'an arrangement' with them.

[Lite Beer]

Is it sent in GBP OR BHT?

Ie. is it changed to Baht by the Thai bank.

[Morden]

Mine is sent in Thai Baht at the current rate.

[nong38]

You are no doubt aware of the UK Govts rules about not paying annual pension increases to recipients living in Thailand and other places outside europe. Before you get in touch with pension service just consider your options first.

[Thailand]

You are no doubt aware of the UK Govts rules about not paying annual pension increases to recipients living in Thailand and other places outside europe. Before you get in touch with pension service just consider your options first.

Yes, an absolute scandal.

Options? Use a UK address /bank and have it paid there and transfer overseas when required etc?

[Morden]

You are no doubt aware of the UK Govts rules about not paying annual pension increases to recipients living in Thailand and other places outside europe. Before you get in touch with pension service just consider your options first.

Yes, an absolute scandal.

Options? Use a UK address /bank and have it paid there and transfer overseas when required etc?

If they catch you pretending that you are in the UK when you are not you could be in deep do do. Tell the the truth and put up with it.

[taff33]

You are no doubt aware of the UK Govts rules about not paying annual pension increases to recipients living in Thailand and other places outside europe. Before you get in touch with pension service just consider your options first.

Yes, an absolute scandal.

Options? Use a UK address /bank and have it paid there and transfer overseas when required etc?

Be carefull it was in a UK news paper that the goverment is clamping down on people living abroad and still cliaming money off the th e social services (hospital treatment ' winter allowance and pension increases) Thailand was mentioned in the paper. It's easy for them to find out by looking at your passort record, it's up to you what you do you might get away with it for years then all of a sudden they want their money back,hard not having any pension untill you pay it all back.My goverment pension isn't due untill 2012 (if they are still going to pay it ) I think it is wiser to tell them the truth.

[cardholder]

You are no doubt aware of the UK Govts rules about not paying annual pension increases to recipients living in Thailand and other places outside europe. Before you get in touch with pension service just consider your options first.

Yes, an absolute scandal.

Options? Use a UK address /bank and have it paid there and transfer overseas when required etc?

Be carefull it was in a UK news paper that the goverment is clamping down on people living abroad and still cliaming money off the th e social services (hospital treatment ' winter allowance and pension increases) Thailand was mentioned in the paper. It's easy for them to find out by looking at your passort record, it's up to you what you do you might get away with it for years then all of a sudden they want their money back,hard not having any pension untill you pay it all back.My goverment pension isn't due untill 2012 (if they are still going to pay it ) I think it is wiser to tell them the truth.

No it isn't.

[pkrv]

You are no doubt aware of the UK Govts rules about not paying annual pension increases to recipients living in Thailand and other places outside europe. Before you get in touch with pension service just consider your options first.

Yes, an absolute scandal.

Options? Use a UK address /bank and have it paid there and transfer overseas when required etc?

The fees on FX transfers are tremendous - £20 GBB for SWIFT transfers - and about £1.50 (plus exchange rates) per cash point withdrawl.

With maximum NI contributions pension will be a tad under £100 per week.

It being frozen if you live in Thailand is a fact and inflation will take its horrific toll.

Certainly you will identify yourself to the UK goverment if you request to be paid directly in Thailand - but short term fees vs long term life? a question - that is each to its own.

Edited December 30, 2010 by pkrv

[theoldgit]

I think the days of having your UK pension paid into a UK bank account whilst living in Thailand and receiving the updates are probably numbered, though you could feasibly get away with it if you have a home in the UK, on which you pay the appropriate taxes on, I really think they will stamp down hard in the near future.

I appreciate the argument that people believe it's fair to claim the pension in the UK because of the unfairness of the pensions being frozen but they are two separate issues and I really think that if somebody was ever taken to court then it wouldn't wash, and whilst I am sympathetic to that argument I doubt if the judiciary would be.

I understand that the bank they use to pay the UK pension in Thailand actually buy the Baht in the UK, my Civil Service Pension is paid the same way and it is normally about 1 Baht less than the going tourist rate and 1.5 Baht less than the telex rate, so I do lose out a bit.

I am in the process of having my Civil Service Pension paid into a Nationwide Offshore account in the Isle of Man and will do the same with my retirement pension when it's due in a couple of years, that way it's paid in Stirling and I can transfer it and benefit from the slightly better rate. As pkrv points out the SWIFT fee is £20, it certainly is with Nationwide, so you would make a small profit every month and even more if you could afford to transfer cash less regularly. Those of us with Civil Service Pensions would be a little better of as well. OK, it's not a big saving but every little helps.

I'm not sure what pkrv means about the £1.50 cash point withdrawal, if you transfer monies into your Thai bank then surely you wouldn't be liable for this.

[cardholder]

I think the days of having your UK pension paid into a UK bank account whilst living in Thailand and receiving the updates are probably numbered, though you could feasibly get away with it if you have a home in the UK, on which you pay the appropriate taxes on, I really think they will stamp down hard in the near future.

I appreciate the argument that people believe it's fair to claim the pension in the UK because of the unfairness of the pensions being frozen but they are two separate issues and I really think that if somebody was ever taken to court then it wouldn't wash, and whilst I am sympathetic to that argument I doubt if the judiciary would be.

I understand that the bank they use to pay the UK pension in Thailand actually buy the Baht in the UK, my Civil Service Pension is paid the same way and it is normally about 1 Baht less than the going tourist rate and 1.5 Baht less than the telex rate, so I do lose out a bit.

I am in the process of having my Civil Service Pension paid into a Nationwide Offshore account in the Isle of Man and will do the same with my retirement pension when it's due in a couple of years, that way it's paid in Stirling and I can transfer it and benefit from the slightly better rate. As pkrv points out the SWIFT fee is £20, it certainly is with Nationwide, so you would make a small profit every month and even more if you could afford to transfer cash less regularly. Those of us with Civil Service Pensions would be a little better of as well. OK, it's not a big saving but every little helps.

I'm not sure what pkrv means about the £1.50 cash point withdrawal, if you transfer monies into your Thai bank then surely you wouldn't be liable for this.

I think pkrv means the 150 Baht ATM charge on foreign cards.

I have often harped on about Halifax Reward account and their £9.50 SWIFT charge (£7.50 at the moment with promo code). You will get £5 reward for each month that you credit £1,000+ into the account so the 'net' cost is £4.50 (or £2.50) for a monthly transfer. The SWIFT transfer can be done online from any location.

No reason why you could not fund a Halifax account by free BACS transfer from Nationwide Int GBP account.

[pkrv]

[i think pkrv means the 150 Baht ATM charge on foreign cards.

yes - sorry - I am not exact. - and this is true - about £ 3.-00 - is that correct?

Edited December 30, 2010 by pkrv

[pkrv]

I think the days of having your UK pension paid into a UK bank account whilst living in Thailand and receiving the updates are probably numbered, though you could feasibly get away with it if you have a home in the UK, on which you pay the appropriate taxes on, I really think they will stamp down hard in the near future.

I appreciate the argument that people believe it's fair to claim the pension in the UK because of the unfairness of the pensions being frozen but they are two separate issues and I really think that if somebody was ever taken to court then it wouldn't wash, and whilst I am sympathetic to that argument I doubt if the judiciary would be.

I understand that the bank they use to pay the UK pension in Thailand actually buy the Baht in the UK, my Civil Service Pension is paid the same way and it is normally about 1 Baht less than the going tourist rate and 1.5 Baht less than the telex rate, so I do lose out a bit.

I am in the process of having my Civil Service Pension paid into a Nationwide Offshore account in the Isle of Man and will do the same with my retirement pension when it's due in a couple of years, that way it's paid in Stirling and I can transfer it and benefit from the slightly better rate. As pkrv points out the SWIFT fee is £20, it certainly is with Nationwide, so you would make a small profit every month and even more if you could afford to transfer cash less regularly. Those of us with Civil Service Pensions would be a little better of as well. OK, it's not a big saving but every little helps.

I'm not sure what pkrv means about the £1.50 cash point withdrawal, if you transfer monies into your Thai bank then surely you wouldn't be liable for this.

Of course there are other options - You are offered to 'top up' your National Insurance contributions – Perhaps like drugs – just say NO!

[JohnC]

I have a govt pension paid direct into my Bangkok Bank, no fees whatsoever and the rate was the same as that quoted on the international market, Citibank have the contract in for UK govt pensions and there aim is to have it transferred within three working days and so far this has worked for me. The added bonus of course means that you avoid the 150baht atm fees for foreign cards as well. The other bonus for me at least is that my Bangkok bank passbook will show many transactions which will help when I renew my retirement extension.

[Rinrada]

Couple of minor related points ...FIO..

Q&A

I am living abroad on a temporary basis so am I entitled to an annual increase to my State Pension?

If you are living abroad temporarily in any other country provided that you remain ordinarily resident in the UK then, you may be entitled to an increase to your State Pension.

This would normally be paid in arrears upon your return to the UK.

I am now resident abroad.

Can I take the option to defer my State Pension?

Yes you can defer your state pension once you get to pension age, even if you are non-resident.

In these circumstances the DWP Pension Service will continue to add annual increases to your pension even if you do not live in one of the reciprocal agreements countries referred to earlier.

For those who live in a country where annual increases are not normally awarded their pension will be flat rated from the point that they start to collect it. This may seem a strange approach but the DWP Pension Service has confirmed that those not normally entitled to annual increases will receive them if their pension is in deferment for the period of that deferment

[nong38]

I am not sure at what level of competency the UK Govt employ people, unless they are very dilligent it will depend on where civil servants are asked to concentrate on,if something stands out like a sore thumb thats easy if they have to dig about a bit, well that might be too much for them bother doing, you see these people throughout your working life all the time and think would I employ that person?

At the moment I am thinking I will live in Thailand for about 10 months of the year, still have UK banks and address and am not yet at the golden age.

I got a charge of almost 14.00 to withdraw 30,000bts this month from Nationwide so when I go back will open a Metro Bank account who have told me they make no charges for overseas use. Only have 4 branches so far all within the M25 but more are coming and they get good reviews, I think the site is metro bank online.com all of a sudden mutual does not matter anymore.

Another bit of speculation from a poll of experts worth looking at on thismoney.co.uk thinks that after a shaky start the pound will start to gain value throughout the year, lets home so.

Happy New Year to you all.

[theoldgit]

[No reason why you could not fund a Halifax account by free BACS transfer from Nationwide Int GBP account.

Unfortunately I cannot get a Halifax account as I no longer have a UK address.

[theoldgit]

[i think pkrv means the 150 Baht ATM charge on foreign cards.

yes - sorry - I am not exact. - and this is true - about £ 3.-00 - is that correct?

But of course this wouldn't apply if the pension was paid directly into a Thai bank or paid into a UK or offshore bank and transferred into a Thai bank.

[taff33]

You are no doubt aware of the UK Govts rules about not paying annual pension increases to recipients living in Thailand and other places outside europe. Before you get in touch with pension service just consider your options first.

Yes, an absolute scandal.

Options? Use a UK address /bank and have it paid there and transfer overseas when required etc?

Be carefull it was in a UK news paper that the goverment is clamping down on people living abroad and still cliaming money off the th e social services (hospital treatment ' winter allowance and pension increases) Thailand was mentioned in the paper. It's easy for them to find out by looking at your passort record, it's up to you what you do you might get away with it for years then all of a sudden they want their money back,hard not having any pension untill you pay it all back.My goverment pension isn't due untill 2012 (if they are still going to pay it ) I think it is wiser to tell them the truth.

No it isn't.

OK maybe 'not easy' but it can be done Yes?

[theoldgit]

OK maybe 'not easy' but it can be done Yes?

I'm not sure if it could be done at the moment. UK passport holders now have their passports swiped when they enter the UK but that's, presently, only to check if the holder is on any warnings index and they are who they say they are and doesn't log you into the country, neither is your passport stamped so there would probably be no record of entering the country.

Likewise there are no embarkation controls at most airports so there would be no record of you leaving the country, and of course no landing cards for UK passport holders. There has been talk of resurrecting embarkation controls but in these days of budget cuts I doubt very much if it would happen, I know for a fact that a number of UKBA staff have been offered early retirement and there are many more worried about their jobs.

There is the infamous e-borders project whereby they would maintain a database of all those foreign nationals entering the country but the e-borders project has fallen into disrepute and whilst their were originally plans to include UK Citizens I very much doubt if this will happen in the foreseeable future.

The UKBA has access to passenger details via flight manifestos using their ALO network so feasibly I suppose this could be extended to check the movements of UK Citizens in and out of the UK, but this would really be a quantum leap and I don't see it really happening.

So taff33, yes it could happen but it would require a massive investment by the UK Government.

[rangers]

I think the days of having your UK pension paid into a UK bank account whilst living in Thailand and receiving the updates are probably numbered, though you could feasibly get away with it if you have a home in the UK, on which you pay the appropriate taxes on, I really think they will stamp down hard in the near future.

I appreciate the argument that people believe it's fair to claim the pension in the UK because of the unfairness of the pensions being frozen but they are two separate issues and I really think that if somebody was ever taken to court then it wouldn't wash, and whilst I am sympathetic to that argument I doubt if the judiciary would be.

I understand that the bank they use to pay the UK pension in Thailand actually buy the Baht in the UK, my Civil Service Pension is paid the same way and it is normally about 1 Baht less than the going tourist rate and 1.5 Baht less than the telex rate, so I do lose out a bit.

I am in the process of having my Civil Service Pension paid into a Nationwide Offshore account in the Isle of Man and will do the same with my retirement pension when it's due in a couple of years, that way it's paid in Stirling and I can transfer it and benefit from the slightly better rate. As pkrv points out the SWIFT fee is £20, it certainly is with Nationwide, so you would make a small profit every month and even more if you could afford to transfer cash less regularly. Those of us with Civil Service Pensions would be a little better of as well. OK, it's not a big saving but every little helps.

I'm not sure what pkrv means about the £1.50 cash point withdrawal, if you transfer monies into your Thai bank then surely you wouldn't be liable for this.

I think pkrv means the 150 Baht ATM charge on foreign cards.

I have often harped on about Halifax Reward account and their £9.50 SWIFT charge (£7.50 at the moment with promo code). You will get £5 reward for each month that you credit £1,000+ into the account so the 'net' cost is £4.50 (or £2.50) for a monthly transfer. The SWIFT transfer can be done online from any location.

No reason why you could not fund a Halifax account by free BACS transfer from Nationwide Int GBP account.

Cardholder

Whats this about a "promo code" and how do i get one? I bank with RBS/Halifax

[Kwasaki]

Thanks for all your response and replies it's good to get the experiences of others living here.

I think I will prefer to get the pension paid directly by UK pension service into my Thai Bank account from what has been said here and the Bangkok Bank seems to have an arrangement sorted.

As for the rises every year on pensions unless they amount to a large increase I shall not go back to the UK but I can go back and live there if I have too if the need arises.

Here's a snip from the UK site :-

If you only spend part of the year abroad

If you divide your time between the UK and abroad you'll have to choose which country you want your State Pension paid into. You can't choose to have it paid in one country for part of the year, and a different country for the rest of the year.

If you decide to come back to live in the UK

In this situation, you can ask for your State Pension to be paid into a UK bank account.

Edited December 31, 2010 by Kwasaki

[Daffy D]

Don't know about Bangkok Bank being the only Bank to have an "arrangement"

I have a Siam Commercial Bank account and the money is paid into that.

Happy New Year

[prodriver]

I become 65 later in the new year and have been facing the dilemma of which route to go about receiving my state pension.

So far, I tend to agree with "theoldgit" and have my pension paid into Nationwide International I.O.M. and then transfer it over every three months. At £20 a time that would equate to £80 per annum in charges. At least the money will arrive in Thailand in sterling and will get exchanged into Thai Baht at the telex transfer rate.

If I have my pension paid direct then it would be converted into Thai Baht in the UK and this might be lower than the tourist (cash) rate thus losing at least 2-3 baht on each pound against the telex transfer rate. My pension will be about £150 per week so by doing the calculations I reckon that I would receive substantially more over the year by going the way "theoldgit" suggests.

However, I'm open to all suggestions

[pkrv]

[i think pkrv means the 150 Baht ATM charge on foreign cards.

yes - sorry - I am not exact. - and this is true - about £ 3.-00 - is that correct?

But of course this wouldn't apply if the pension was paid directly into a Thai bank or paid into a UK or offshore bank and transferred into a Thai bank.

I agree - work this - Live in the UK and reside in Thailand.

[cardholder]

Whats this about a "promo code" and how do i get one? I bank with RBS/Halifax

£2 off:-

http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/help-guidance/managing-your-accounts/receiving-sending-money/international-payments/

Quote GOHX10 to get your £2 discount