UK pensions

[transam]

12 hours ago, Rajab Al Zarahni said:

Herewith, the latest policy document from the DWP , entitled: "Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide". 

It is dated February 2018 so there is no issue about it being out of date. At Appendix 1 it is clear that in their understanding the term benefit is intended to include the state pension. It clears up many of the issues we have been debating except for the vexed question of whether the DWP would be vigorous or otherwise in the enforcement of its policy. Please note in the introduction that the document is intended to be a guidance document of the DWP for its staff:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683470/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf

I will forget about email to DWP, that paper tells all.

[bert bloggs]

1 hour ago, transam said:

I will forget about email to DWP, that paper tells all.

Half of The retired folk in Thailand will sleep easier in their beds now ,

[transam]

1 minute ago, bert bloggs said:

Half of The retired folk in Thailand will sleep easier in their beds now ,

.........Plus the ones who don't read all of that paper.....

[sandyf]

On 2/26/2018 at 9:19 AM, transam said:

My thought is that we are now in the hi-tech digital age, doesn't matter where you turn tech is taking over, so l reckon it won't be long before all the dots will join up to reveal fraudsters not following the rules regarding pension payout..As it is now ones passport tells all if there was a tech link, which l think will happen in the future..

Not in the future, it is now. I know for a fact that the DVLA and Trainline have access to your passport, so it would be fairly safe to assume some other entities. I have just bought a Senior Railcard and was asked to supply a DL or passport number for verification.

The question is if there would be any history attached to the passport data. It should be borne in mind that passports are scanned on entry and exit from the UK. There is very little immigration control now on the way out so how would they know when foreign nationals leave the country if not from the likes of boarding procedures and VIS.

[sandyf]

On 11/6/2017 at 10:30 AM, simoh1490 said:

 

We know for certain that both HSBC UK and Bangkok Bank are members of SWIFT because they both have active SWIFT codes that can be successfully used when transferring to and from those banks via other banks.

 

Just a heads up. I use HSBC online banking and do not pay a great deal of attention to bank statements. This morning I was thinking about statements for my wife's visa and notice that HSBC have changed the SWIFT codes. Looks like it has happened sometime in the last 9 months, the MIDL has been changed to HBUK, taken them long enough.

I don't do a lot of transfers back to the UK but when I do I normally just copy details from previous transaction, could have been a bit embarrassing.

[denby45]

17 hours ago, Rajab Al Zarahni said:

Herewith, the latest policy document from the DWP , entitled: "Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide". 

It is dated February 2018 so there is no issue about it being out of date. At Appendix 1 it is clear that in their understanding the term benefit is intended to include the state pension. It clears up many of the issues we have been debating except for the vexed question of whether the DWP would be vigorous or otherwise in the enforcement of its policy. Please note in the introduction that the document is intended to be a guidance document of the DWP for its staff:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683470/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf

Not old enough to claim my State Pension. However I will be by the time I have read that lot.

 

 

Den

[nontabury]

19 hours ago, Rajab Al Zarahni said:

Herewith, the latest policy document from the DWP , entitled: "Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide". 

It is dated February 2018 so there is no issue about it being out of date. At Appendix 1 it is clear that in their understanding the term benefit is intended to include the state pension. It clears up many of the issues we have been debating except for the vexed question of whether the DWP would be vigorous or otherwise in the enforcement of its policy. Please note in the introduction that the document is intended to be a guidance document of the DWP for its staff:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683470/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf

 

  I beleive it’s only in recent years that the government have started to include the State pensions, as a benefit.

[transam]

1 minute ago, nontabury said:

 

  I beleive it’s only in recent years that the government have started to include the State pensions, as a benefit.

One thing has been cleared up by the posted paper....They can reclaim fraudulent payments from ones pension...

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

5 minutes ago, transam said:

One thing has been cleared up by the posted paper....They can reclaim fraudulent payments from ones pension...

..........and they can do so without court proceedings

[i claudius]

..........and they can do so without court proceedings

Yes but not a lot

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

2 minutes ago, i claudius said:

Yes but not a lot

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Sorry, I don't understand ?

[i claudius]

Sorry, I don't understand ?

Didnt it say that the maximum is 7% per payment?

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

16 minutes ago, i claudius said:

Didnt it say that the maximum is 7% per payment?

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I re-read the document and could find no reference to recovery being limited to 7% per payment. Please let me have the paragraph reference when you have had the opportunity to again review the document.

[Orton Rd]

On ‎27‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 5:26 PM, transam said:

If someone has retired and using an address in the UK or any "OK" place to get his pension with top ups etc but his PP shows he has gone through the LOS system to get a visa called a retirement visa where his pension is locked, then l think a "light" will come on with those who's job it is to suss fraudsters..

surely only if they use the Embassy for income letters, other than that how would they know anything about you back in the UK?

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

surely only if they use the Embassy for income letters, other than that how would they know anything about you back in the UK?

In and/or out PP stamps..

[Orton Rd]

31 minutes ago, transam said:

In and/or out PP stamps..

But you go through immigration in UK via a machine that just scans the main page, nobody sees it

[transam]

Just now, Orton Rd said:

But you go through immigration in UK via a machine that just scans the main page, nobody sees it

I don't know cos I ain't been back in a loooong time, but l do know my PP has a chip in it, who knows what it does...

[Orton Rd]

chip stores info about the person but cannot record or send it, as far as I know. Wonder what would happen if it was de chipped?

[nontabury]

15 minutes ago, transam said:

I don't know cos I ain't been back in a loooong time, but l do know my PP has a chip in it, who knows what it does...

You think too much, and you worry too much.

[sumrit]

1 minute ago, transam said:

I don't know cos I ain't been back in a loooong time, but l do know my PP has a chip in it, who knows what it does...

It's a digital copy of your photo page. It can't read what's on the other pages.

 

[JoePai]

Agreed but if ‘they’ wish to check it would be simple to find out how many times you have visited the UK plus the dates of arrival and departure.

There are also the carriers manifests which record all travelers details and have to be kept for so may years

Very simple for the authorities to find out your travel movements – and not just for the UK but any flights anywhere - you cannot hide !

[transam]

23 hours ago, sumrit said:

It's a digital copy of your photo page. It can't read what's on the other pages.

 

Yes, but my new PP has a different chip in it...Who knows what that reveals...

 

Seems  when there is a terrorist attack in the UK "they" can find out in short order where folk have been or come from...The info is there if they want to find it...

[i claudius]

Its one thing the secret services finding terrorists and another someone from the dwp finding percy the pensioner.not saying it cannot be done but well you know what i mean

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Henryford]

On 2/25/2018 at 10:57 PM, Golden Triangle said:

Okay, so a general consensus of opinion please then from our esteemed members, my new passport has my Thai address on it, gleaned from my Thai driving licence, the fact that I no longer live at that address is immaterial.

 

I can apply for my state pension around about June, do I use my daughters address or come clean and tell them I am living in a country where it will be frozen from day 1.

 

All responses welcome as I believe the trolls have been silenced. TIA

With inflation at 1-2% it's not worth telling lies, what does that get you an extra Pound or two. By the time it mounts up you will be dead or too old to care.

[nontabury]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

With inflation at 1-2% it's not worth telling lies, what does that get you an extra Pound or two. By the time it mounts up you will be dead or too old to care.

Have you read all of this thread? I recently returned to live in the U.K.

pension increased by over £25 per week. Do you think that those pensioners living in the U.K. would be prepared to accept a frozen pension.

 

 

[Golden Triangle]

With regard to Henryford & nontabry' post above, I realise that the rate of inflation will drop over time & I also believe that there are moves afoot to cancel the so called triple lock, so raises in the future may not be as generous as they were, and I also have to realise that if I have it paid into my UK bank account then it's going to cost me 20 quid a month to transfer it, I may as well have it paid directly cos a 20 quid a month cost is 240 quid a year, it's gonna take some stellar increases in the pension to beat that, 

[sumrit]

17 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

With regard to Henryford & nontabry' post above, I realise that the rate of inflation will drop over time & I also believe that there are moves afoot to cancel the so called triple lock, so raises in the future may not be as generous as they were, and I also have to realise that if I have it paid into my UK bank account then it's going to cost me 20 quid a month to transfer it, I may as well have it paid directly cos a 20 quid a month cost is 240 quid a year, it's gonna take some stellar increases in the pension to beat that, 

Don't transfer to your Thai bank account from your UK bank, use Transferwise instead. Not only a the fees much cheaper than your bank's the exchange rate is also much better, and the money will take less time to arrive in Thailand. I sent some money last night (Thursday) at 9pm (Thai time) and they promised it would be in my Thai account by Saturday. In fact it was in my account by 1pm today (Friday), just fifteen hours later.

[Orton Rd]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

With inflation at 1-2% it's not worth telling lies, what does that get you an extra Pound or two. By the time it mounts up you will be dead or too old to care.

I don't think the upgrades are the main concern, it's more being charged 150% by the NHS and the possibility, which they already looked at of stripping ex pats of their tax free allowance. I read last week the UK pension is the lowest in Europe as a percent of annual earnings at just 29%. In Holland they get even more than ave annual earnings.

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

With inflation at 1-2% it's not worth telling lies, what does that get you an extra Pound or two. By the time it mounts up you will be dead or too old to care.

The problem is as the freeze squeezes your income you probably won't be dead. Most people underestimate their life expectancy.

You might become too old to  complain but you won't be too old to suffer.

One of the pensioner campaign groups featured the story of a 90+ year old lady living in Canada who now draws a paltry UK state pension of just £6 a week. Maybe the government in Canada would provide some measure of financial support but you wouldn't get anything in Thailand.

If you are affected by this then you should be angry rather than accepting.

[steve187]

13 minutes ago, Rajab Al Zarahni said:

One of the pensioner campaign groups featured the story of a 90+ year old lady living in Canada who now draws a paltry UK state pension of just £6 a week. Maybe the government in Canada would provide some measure of financial support but you wouldn't get anything in Thailand.

If you are affected by this then you should be angry rather than accepting.

that's not a frozen full pension , must be a frozen part pension, as most women of that age paid a reduced NI contribution which only gave them a small part pension, someone in 1984 retiring on a full pension would have received somewhere in the region of £35 per week,  still not good but £6 would be a bad example, and not the norm