UK pensions

[i claudius]

Or you could tell your GP nothing and use a UK address ,but that would be cheating ,just like what the govt do to you.

[transam]

If we put our feet up in LOS, they do not cancel your national health number..........

[Liquorice]

If questioned, just say you've come to live in the UK permanently again.

You can later changed your mind again.

The politicians are always doing it!

[JB300]

If we put our feet up in LOS, they do not cancel your national health number..........

From the 1st article quoted... https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-to-improve-overseas-visitors-contributions-to-nhs-care

Within the UK, free NHS treatment is provided on the basis of someone being ‘ordinarily resident’. It is not dependent upon nationality, payment of UK taxes, national insurance contributions, being registered with a GP, having an NHS number or owning property in the UK.

The changes which come into effect from April will affect visitors and former UK residents differently, depending on where they now live.

Treatment in A&E departments and at GP surgeries will remain free for all.

[transam]

I may have my feet up in LOS but I am not an immigrant or anything...Can be chucked out at any time, the country does not want me as a member of their society.

[Eff1n2ret]

If questioned, just say you've come to live in the UK permanently again.

You can later changed your mind again.

The politicians are always doing it!

They might not take your word for it:-

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1087.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=162

Proving your entitlement

Hospitals are responsible for checking who should pay for NHS hospital treatment.

The hospital will ask you for evidence to prove that you intend to live in the UK permanently. The documents that you provide will depend on your circumstances.

Examples could include:

• documents showing the sale of goods or property overseas
• receipts showing shipping of goods to the UK
• evidence that you're looking for work
• evidence that you have bought property in the UK or have rented a property
• papers that show you've applied for benefits
• evidence that your children are attending school in the UK

[Liquorice]

Little of that proof of documents would apply to us pensioners, other than proving you have a UK address and that wouldn't be hard for the majority of us.

The hospitals now have self admission computers where you input your data.

White - British - Proceed.

They really are a joke!

[nong38]

If questioned, just say you've come to live in the UK permanently again.

You can later changed your mind again.

The politicians are always doing it!

With the command of statement above you could be a politician! Would you like an application form? ( available from your nearest Primary school.).

[nong38]

If questioned, just say you've come to live in the UK permanently again.

You can later changed your mind again.

The politicians are always doing it!

They might not take your word for it:-

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1087.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=162

Proving your entitlement

Hospitals are responsible for checking who should pay for NHS hospital treatment.

The hospital will ask you for evidence to prove that you intend to live in the UK permanently. The documents that you provide will depend on your circumstances.

Examples could include:

• documents showing the sale of goods or property overseas
• receipts showing shipping of goods to the UK
• evidence that you're looking for work
• evidence that you have bought property in the UK or have rented a property
• papers that show you've applied for benefits
• evidence that your children are attending school in the UK

Does not seem to applying to retired folks, I am too old to work, I have a property in the UK, I dont want to apply for benefits and my kids left school 20 years ago!

Maybe we can disregard most of the above and feign loss of memory, failing eyesight and non members of the digital age!

[Liquorice]

Nah! Thanks Nong but I wouldn't fit the following criteria for a politician.

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

[sandyf]

”You are entitled to free NHS hospital treatment if you are one of the following people and fall ill during your visit. You are not entitled to routine treatment for a pre-existing condition.

You are entitled to receive free NHS care if you:

get a UK state retirement pension or another state benefit and normally live in a non-EEA country. You must have lived lawfully in the UK for at least ten years continuously in the past, or worked for the UK "

I have decided I think I know what this means.

It means if you get a state pension you can get NHS care for all but routine pre existing conditions. So I reckon for eg if you had a serious episode of any kind you are entitled......and it would make ethical sense to not withhold this from pensioners who have paid into the system after all.

What I reckon they are avoiding is routine non-vital stuff.

Well it's at least somewhat comforting.....

Think this deserves looking further into the detail.

The other question is if you have been in Thailand for say a decade or two and you sign into a GP in Winchester or Chester who's to say what was pre-existing?

"If you are moving abroad on a permanent basis, you will no longer be entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules. This is because the NHS is a residence-based healthcare system. You’ll also have to notify your GP so that you and your family can be removed from the NHS register".

Statement is wide open to interpretation. As far as Thailand is concerned very few live on a permanent basis. Something that has to be renewed every year can hardly be described as permanent.

The yellow books are quite explicit in that they are for temporary residents.

[chiang mai]

I suspect that a, "patterns of behavior" test will produce a different answer.

BTW exactly when did the NHS become a "residence-based healthcare system", rather than based on nationality and/or NI payments made?

Edited April 11, 2015 by chiang mai

[i claudius]

A friend of mine has a UK address,he has a GP, he has a pre-existing complaint he flew over arranged a private diagnosis ,to save time was given a date for his operation and will fly back to the UK to have it done in the NHS,he paid in for 40 odd years so why not? I don't blame him for one do you,?

[sandyf]

A friend of mine has a UK address,he has a GP, he has a pre-existing complaint he flew over arranged a private diagnosis ,to save time was given a date for his operation and will fly back to the UK to have it done in the NHS,he paid in for 40 odd years so why not? I don't blame him for one do you,?

This is the reality of the situation. It does not matter how we on here would like to interpret what gets published, at the end of the day tje outcome of any particular situation is in the hands of the NHS staff.

[billd766]

Whilst this BBC link is not directly connected with pensions the financial aspect could be.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32272817

quote "The minimum wage is £6.50 an hour for people over 21, while the living wage calculated by the Living Wage Foundation is £7.85 (£9.15 in London)."

On a 40 hour week at the minimum wage you would get £260 before deductions but it is said that you need £314 before deductions or £366 in London.

Does ANY state pensioner get anything like that amount? In London that equates to a state pension of £19,032 pa but that is apparrantly necessary just to live.

I get a little over 40% of that for my (frozen) State pension but then again I live in rural Thailand and not London or the Home Counties.

[jpinx]

Whilst this BBC link is not directly connected with pensions the financial aspect could be.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32272817

quote "The minimum wage is £6.50 an hour for people over 21, while the living wage calculated by the Living Wage Foundation is £7.85 (£9.15 in London)."

On a 40 hour week at the minimum wage you would get £260 before deductions but it is said that you need £314 before deductions or £366 in London.

Does ANY state pensioner get anything like that amount? In London that equates to a state pension of £19,032 pa but that is apparrantly necessary just to live.

I get a little over 40% of that for my (frozen) State pension but then again I live in rural Thailand and not London or the Home Counties.

A more logical calculation would be Pension-per-week divided by Basic-minimum-wage to give you the equivalent hours you are deemed to be working.

[uptheos]

It would be nice if certain Brits stopped bending over and taking a real big one.

You paid your dues, some fought for the country so just take what's rightfully yours by whatever means you have to!!

Good grief, I can't believe some of the tail between the legs people.......Bulldog spirit??????

[billd766]

Whilst this BBC link is not directly connected with pensions the financial aspect could be.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32272817

quote "The minimum wage is £6.50 an hour for people over 21, while the living wage calculated by the Living Wage Foundation is £7.85 (£9.15 in London)."

On a 40 hour week at the minimum wage you would get £260 before deductions but it is said that you need £314 before deductions or £366 in London.

Does ANY state pensioner get anything like that amount? In London that equates to a state pension of £19,032 pa but that is apparrantly necessary just to live.

I get a little over 40% of that for my (frozen) State pension but then again I live in rural Thailand and not London or the Home Counties.

A more logical calculation would be Pension-per-week divided by Basic-minimum-wage to give you the equivalent hours you are deemed to be working.

At the London rating I would be working just over 10 hours a week and outside I would be on 14.5 hours at the current minimum working wage of £6.50.

[ThaiLife]

We'll end frozen pensions for expats, says Green party Manifesto includes commitment to pay full state pension, and annual increases, to all overseas pensioners

Expat pensioners could receive the full state pension in future if the Green Party holds the balance of power after the general election.

The partys manifesto published today, contains a commitment to restore full state pensions to those expats whose payments have been frozen since they moved abroad.

Expat British pensioners in many countries, including Australia and Canada, do not receive the normal inflation-linked increases in the state pension every year. As a result, their payments are frozen and some elderly expats receive just a tiny fraction of the full basic state pension of £115.95 paid to those who live in Britain.

Campaigners have been calling for years for a change in the "discriminatory" policy but, although they have received support from some MPs, ministers have dismissed the calls, saying that restoring full pensions would be unaffordable.

The Green party's manifesto said the party would "make sure that all pensioners living abroad receive the same pension and annual pension increase as those living in the UK".

While the party has no chance of winning power on its own, it may win enough seats to be courted by other parties in search of coalition partners. A commitment to ending frozen pensions for expats could therefore be included in any agreement reached with another party, although it could equally be dropped as part of the horse-trading.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/11535178/Well-end-frozen-pensions-for-expats-says-Green-party.html

[Expattaff1308]

As per above:

The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP)

The Green Party have declared in their manifesto today:

“Make sure that all pensioners living abroad receive the same pension and annual pension increase as those living in the UK”

And now the Telegraph have covered the story!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Well-end-frozen-pensions-for-e…

[i claudius]

As per above:

The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP)

The Green Party have declared in their manifesto today:

“Make sure that all pensioners living abroad receive the same pension and annual pension increase as those living in the UK”

And now the Telegraph have covered the story!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Well-end-frozen-pensions-for-e…

The Green party are a bunch of loons ,the one councill they run in Brighton is a disaster and will soon be kicked out , anything they back is doomed to fail ,this is about the only policy that is not complete loony tunes , read their manifesto ,they are about as sane as the monster raving loony party .

[nong38]

As per above:

The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP)

The Green Party have declared in their manifesto today:

“Make sure that all pensioners living abroad receive the same pension and annual pension increase as those living in the UK”

And now the Telegraph have covered the story!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Well-end-frozen-pensions-for-e…

The Green party are a bunch of loons ,the one councill they run in Brighton is a disaster and will soon be kicked out , anything they back is doomed to fail ,this is about the only policy that is not complete loony tunes , read their manifesto ,they are about as sane as the monster raving loony party .

Whilst I welcome the fact that they have noticed an injustice, I have to agree the rest of their polices and candidates seem to be two sandwiches short of a picnic and there fore the chance of them ever getting any power in the land is about as likely winning the lottery 2 weeks on the trot.

[nontabury]

As per above:

The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP)

The Green Party have declared in their manifesto today:

“Make sure that all pensioners living abroad receive the same pension and annual pension increase as those living in the UK”

And now the Telegraph have covered the story!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Well-end-frozen-pensions-for-e…

The Green party are a bunch of loons ,the one councill they run in Brighton is a disaster and will soon be kicked out , anything they back is doomed to fail ,this is about the only policy that is not complete loony tunes , read their manifesto ,they are about as sane as the monster raving loony party .

If this is correct it puts me in a bit of a delimmer, do I vote for the party that will be the best for the country, UKIP, or do I place my vote for the party that will put my interest first, the Green Party. While they may be a party of loons, who at the very best may get 1or 2 MPs , they are at least putting our case to the fore front. For that we have to be thankful.

[evadgib]

Redacted copy of a letter received from the UKIP candidate in my constituency:

Dear Mr. ……….,

Thank you for your email. I will attempt to answer your questions.

1. Frozen Pensions

Interestingly I have been contacted by another overseas elector about this matter. My view is that the freezing of pensions is wrong. My understanding is that this saves only £37m/yr, which is a small amount in the government's finances. I would vote to remove this anomaly. Concerning UKIP policy, I am not aware that we have a specific policy on this issue, but I will be raising it with the policy team. But it is the kind of thing that we would most likely support as a party - and I will vote for its abolition if I am elected as the MP for ………………………….

2. Overseas voters

I am of the view that as long as you hold a British passport you should be allowed to vote from overseas in UK elections - that is part of what being a citizen means. I would look seriously at this issue with a view to a change in the law. I am also concerned about potential disenfranchisement of British military personnel overseas - at the last election there were problems with voter registration. This is also something we need to look at.

3. Electronic Voting.

This is one area where I am in potential disagreement with you. I am a computer software engineer by profession and I know that there is no such thing as a fully secure technology. Electronic voting is open to abuse, not least by the government itself which would be responsible for the design and deployment of the software. I think that a paper ballot is still the best way to vote. However, there may be a case for making an exception in special circumstances such as overseas electors or those in remote locations, but I would definitely not want to extend online voting to the whole population of the UK.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

..…… ..……..

Parliamentary Candidate for…………

UK Independence Party

The other main candidates & local media have yet to respond.

[MaeJoMTB]

If this is correct it puts me in a bit of a delimmer, do I vote for the party that will be the best for the country, UKIP, or do I place my vote for the party that will put my interest first, the Green Party. While they may be a party of loons, who at the very best may get 1or 2 MPs , they are at least putting our case to the fore front. For that we have to be thankful.

You don't think UKIP are loons ?????????

[nong38]

If this is correct it puts me in a bit of a delimmer, do I vote for the party that will be the best for the country, UKIP, or do I place my vote for the party that will put my interest first, the Green Party. While they may be a party of loons, who at the very best may get 1or 2 MPs , they are at least putting our case to the fore front. For that we have to be thankful.

You don't think UKIP are loons ?????????

To me they seem to be more in tune with the will of the general public, that may mean of course that they offend people from time to time and they might upset a few minorities by representing the majority view.

[billd766]

If this is correct it puts me in a bit of a delimmer, do I vote for the party that will be the best for the country, UKIP, or do I place my vote for the party that will put my interest first, the Green Party. While they may be a party of loons, who at the very best may get 1or 2 MPs , they are at least putting our case to the fore front. For that we have to be thankful.

You don't think UKIP are loons ?????????

To me they seem to be more in tune with the will of the general public, that may mean of course that they offend people from time to time and they might upset a few minorities by representing the majority view.

They are certainly going to get my vote and no, I don't think that they are loons.

Do you think they are, and if so, why do you think that?

[green job]

As per above:

The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP)

The Green Party have declared in their manifesto today:

“Make sure that all pensioners living abroad receive the same pension and annual pension increase as those living in the UK”

And now the Telegraph have covered the story!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Well-end-frozen-pensions-for-e…

The Green party are a bunch of loons ,the one councill they run in Brighton is a disaster and will soon be kicked out , anything they back is doomed to fail ,this is about the only policy that is not complete loony tunes , read their manifesto ,they are about as sane as the monster raving loony party .

If this is correct it puts me in a bit of a delimmer, do I vote for the party that will be the best for the country, UKIP, or do I place my vote for the party that will put my interest first, the Green Party. While they may be a party of loons, who at the very best may get 1or 2 MPs , they are at least putting our case to the fore front. For that we have to be thankful.

You cant trust any of them, no matter what party,and what they promise. Same as the the british public,very fickle. Just look at history,they drop a prime minister

that fxxked off the Germans,and saved their nation,then voted in the party that has fxxced up everything we stood for.Now we have a unelected EU Run by the huns. 115 pounds pension frozen. what a joke.

[green job]

If this is correct it puts me in a bit of a delimmer, do I vote for the party that will be the best for the country, UKIP, or do I place my vote for the party that will put my interest first, the Green Party. While they may be a party of loons, who at the very best may get 1or 2 MPs , they are at least putting our case to the fore front. For that we have to be thankful.

You don't think UKIP are loons ?????????

To me they seem to be more in tune with the will of the general public, that may mean of course that they offend people from time to time and they might upset a few minorities by representing the majority view.

They are certainly going to get my vote and no, I don't think that they are loons.

Do you think they are, and if so, why do you think that?

They are 100% NOT loons, I would go as far to say most of the left party voters are the loons,

[billd766]

As per above:

The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP)

The Green Party have declared in their manifesto today:

“Make sure that all pensioners living abroad receive the same pension and annual pension increase as those living in the UK”

And now the Telegraph have covered the story!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Well-end-frozen-pensions-for-e…

The Green party are a bunch of loons ,the one councill they run in Brighton is a disaster and will soon be kicked out , anything they back is doomed to fail ,this is about the only policy that is not complete loony tunes , read their manifesto ,they are about as sane as the monster raving loony party .

If this is correct it puts me in a bit of a delimmer, do I vote for the party that will be the best for the country, UKIP, or do I place my vote for the party that will put my interest first, the Green Party. While they may be a party of loons, who at the very best may get 1or 2 MPs , they are at least putting our case to the fore front. For that we have to be thankful.

You cant trust any of them, no matter what party,and what they promise. Same as the the british public,very fickle. Just look at history,they drop a prime minister

that fxxked off the Germans,and saved their nation,then voted in the party that has fxxced up everything we stood for.Now we have a unelected EU Run by the huns. 115 pounds pension frozen. what a joke.

Actually the £115 frozen pension is just the current rate and there are perhaps 500,000 pensioners worldwide on less than that. I know I am.