On the sick in the sunshine: 10,000 Britons abroad claiming £1million a week in benefits

• 4,000 can continue to claim until retirement
  
• European law forces UK taxpayers to continue to fund handouts
  

At least 10,000 British emigrants are enjoying life in the sun on sickness benefits of up to £94 a week.

This could be costing the taxpayer almost £1million a week in a time of austerity.

Claimants in the UK are being forced to take new tests to see if they really are as sick as they say.

But officials admit that 4,000 older recipients of the benefit living in Spain, Jamaica and elsewhere will be able to continue drawing the handout until they reach retirement age.

This is because Iain Duncan Smith’s Department of Work and Pensions will not re-test the entitlement of those over 60.

The Government is forced by EU rules to pay certain benefits even if the recipients eventually move abroad.

In addition, Britain has reciprocal arrangements with other countries, including the U.S. and Jamaica, to keep up expatriates’ handouts.

http://www.dailymail...ng-1m-week.html

Edited January 10, 201214 yr by Lite Beer
Edited for Fair Use.

Another reason I left the UK and pay no Tax.

Be fair, if the person is genuinely sick then it shouldnt be a prison sentence condemning you to a life in the UK....it is possible to be genuinely incapacitated and still have a quality of life.

On the other hand if they are ripping the p*ss then that is another matter, but lets not assume everyone is ripping it.....anyway I forsee another typical British thread coming up here......I think I will start a poll asking who is sick of the Brits ( of which I am one ) whingeing about everything British.

It will probably be the most one sided poll in Thaivisa history........

edited for spelling

Edited January 10, 201214 yr by theblether

OP, you are really a very sad individual that really should get a life. You spend most of your LIFE here worrying about others instead of sorting yourself out. YES, l have read many of your posts and l think you should find a lady and chill out.

They take medicals. They see doctors. The government make them take medicals too.

Was it not last year when very many were given re-assessment of their sickness under the new government? Yet they are hounded again. Why? Because they are sick? An easy target? Is this not done to death?

Look up reciprocal agreements. Many are perfectly entitled to stay in reciprocal countries. Spain being one of them. Are the sick and disabled expected to die in the cold UK winters to keep costs down?

Ah and do not forget the lazy b*stards on the dole who will not work. Those scruffy, malignant stains of the working class on humanity. Forget the unemployment rates and the fact they and the sick and the ordinary working man did not cause the world wide financial problems. Just give them hell for being alive.

Quote From Pattayadingo.

"They take medicals. They see doctors. The government make them take medicals too."

I fully agree with that, no one gets on the sick without it being signed off by a Doctor in the first place. I lay you odds that the vast majority are genuinely incapacitated, even by the governments own figures many are fast approaching retirement age. Are you seriously suggesting they should call back 63 year olds from overseas for a medical?.

This idea that every one of them is on the maximum payment is obviously wrong too. I would suggest a median figure of around £750, 000 a week would be closer to the mark. I bet you the Treasury are delighted, they will be think its excellent value for money, getting 10,000 people funded for only £750K a week, the vast majority of which are genuinely sick or approaching retirement age.

The Daily Mail must be running out of people to vilify.

They take medicals. They see doctors. The government make them take medicals too.

Was it not last year when very many were given re-assessment of their sickness under the new government? Yet they are hounded again. Why? Because they are sick? An easy target? Is this not done to death?

Look up reciprocal agreements. Many are perfectly entitled to stay in reciprocal countries. Spain being one of them. Are the sick and disabled expected to die in the cold UK winters to keep costs down?

Ah and do not forget the lazy b*stards on the dole who will not work. Those scruffy, malignant stains of the working class on humanity. Forget the unemployment rates and the fact they and the sick and the ordinary working man did not cause the world wide financial problems. Just give them hell for being alive.

well said. I too am one of these sick people. Despite the Draconian measures one has to go through to get benefits these days the Government now reduce payments if abroad (though not reciprocal countries) to 4 weeks then they STOP. I'm honest, I go by the rules and I choose wether to live on benefits or live in Thailand. Thailand wins hands down.

As it is the Mail, you just know what is written is the exact, literal and absolute truth. Just don`t mention their supporting Hitler.

As it is the Mail, you just know what is written is the exact, literal and absolute truth. Just don`t mention their supporting Hitler.

Another reason I left the UK and pay no Tax.

Well, you are lucky. I left my country but still have to pay tax.

I have never claimed to be clairvoyant but was still able to guess the paper in which the headline appeared. Just as "New evidence on Diana death" would be the Express. Just wish it was printed on softer paper....

Another reason I left the UK and pay no Tax.

Well, you are lucky. I left my country but still have to pay tax.

crossed my mind when i saw post,not often agree with semper,but together on that one.

Doing a simple numbers check on the OP, he says 10,000 Britons claiming 1 million pounds a week. These days my maths is not as good as it used to be, but this might be an average of 100 quid a week.

Later in the post he says ''up to'' 94 quid a week.

So ---- something is seriously incorrect. Maybe the OP worked for The Nation --- never spoil a good story with accuracy.

Doing a simple numbers check on the OP, he says 10,000 Britons claiming 1 million pounds a week. These days my maths is not as good as it used to be, but this might be an average of 100 quid a week.

Later in the post he says ''up to'' 94 quid a week.

So ---- something is seriously incorrect. Maybe the OP worked for The Nation --- never spoil a good story with accuracy.

Splitting hairs a little, the difference is not major. Let's say for a moment it is a million a week, £52 million a year. A lot of money. But total chicken feed compared to the billions of taxes avoided in tax by companies like Vodafone and TopShop. wouldn't you think that was more newsworthy ? I do but the Mail won't run with that in any major way....could it have anything to do with the fact that you get zero advertising revenue from 10,000 expat Brits but a significant proportion from companies that would pull their ads the moment you run a story on them ?

Still pulls in the mug punters though. If it wasn't for those dupes the paper that supported Hitler & Mussolini would have bit the dust years ago.

Edited January 10, 201214 yr by roamer

i was one that moved to los when on inc.ben.aged 64,in 2007 after suffering for 6years i was told i had to have life saving surgery.docters had already told me i would never work again.never been on the dole and worked down the coal mines for 20years my debt to society was paid.after a double by pass and a new heart valve i was given a new lease of life.we planned to move to los.so in 2009 aged 64 i informed the dwp that i was leaving the uk.a form was filled in and they recieved it in aug.2009,left the uk in oct.but they continued to pay my benefit till jan2010.they then told me i had to pay it back[£1300] as i had not informed them i was leaving,after months of corosponding they where going to take me to court for the recovery of £1300.now it was time to stop being mr .nice guy and sent copys and proof of what they said i failed to inform them to a solicitor within 2weeks i recieved a letter that they now addmitted that what i had done.no appoligy just said i would be contacted later i am still waiting.like its been said the checks the genuine ones have to go through means f-all as long as you play by the book.the ones that have never worked or fiddled their way through life will always be left alone to continue ripping off anyone.and oh yes my pension is frozen as to help pay for the scrounges.

We need perspective.

1,000,000 GBP x 52 weeks a year = £52,000,000 (52 million quid)

This is the cost of supporting the lifestyles of 10,000 people abroad on benefits a year. 52,000,000 quid.

Thats £100 per person per week.

The British Taxpayer, paid £37,000,000,000 (37 Billion quid) to Royal Bank of Scotland that employs 27,000 people.

Thats £26353 per person per week.

I ask you which is better value for the taxpayer.

So its ok for for people on sick benefits to be paid out, anywhere in the world or just in the EU and the reciprical countries? As usual its the Daily Mail, the New Sun. "You have 20 minutes to research this story, see what you can do" ( No one is going to check the figures and claims.)

Seventeen posts and no one has had a crack a migrants yet. There is hope....

Easy for the DM to slag off the fortunate few citizens, who have voted with their feet & common-sense, and moved elsewhere, rather than the governments & civil-servants who set the system up this way.

But then they're hardly going to lose many mug-punter readers, from the ranks of people living the 'good-life' overseas, on up-to 94 quid-per-week, are they ? Whereas pandering to the ignorance and prejudices of their core-market is a sure-fire winner !

Seventeen posts and no one has had a crack a migrants yet. There is hope....

Well I blame the bloody immigrants, I do. Coming over here, taking our jobs and our wimmen and that. I fink we should send them all back where they come from....

Seventeen posts and no one has had a crack a migrants yet. There is hope....

Well I blame the bloody immigrants, I do. Coming over here, taking our jobs and our wimmen and that. I fink we should send them all back where they come from....

No, no, they aren't migrants. They are 'expats' as many have been keen to point out recently.

God forbid that you'd ever call them 'immigrants'. Just not on old chap..

Seventeen posts and no one has had a crack a migrants yet. There is hope....

Well I blame the bloody immigrants, I do. Coming over here, taking our jobs and our wimmen and that. I fink we should send them all back where they come from....

You're referring to Thailand aren't you!

I'll read what the Daily Fail has to say when they report on the millions of quids the government save each year by not paying pensioners living overseas the yearly pension increase and the further millions saved by not having to provide medical services, bus passes, winter heating allowances etc. for those pensioners.

Not to mention the millions saved in unclaimed benefits by people entitled to them.

I'll read what the Daily Fail has to say when they report on the millions of quids the government save each year by not paying pensioners living overseas the yearly pension increase and the further millions saved by not having to provide medical services, bus passes, winter heating allowances etc. for those pensioners.

Not to mention the millions saved in unclaimed benefits by people entitled to them.

They are trying to fix that unpaid benefit situation by bringing in a universal credit.

Any chance of pension freeze holiday?

You all need to change the tabloids you read.

Utter trash reading. Good luck though.

every expat should return to uk,that would really upset there budget plans,lol

This is an interesting topic, but it is not Thai-related, so

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