i soon will make a claim for my uk pension was wondering is there any benifit claiming from the uk or from thailand ie i can get a friend to post off in the uk

Your best bet is to claim from here. There is now a stricter system either about to come into place or it may even be in place concerning pension claimers making a personal appearance at the pension office due to a clamp down on benefit frauds.if they find you are her in Thailand your pension could be at risk.

The tragedy or rather The Miscarriage Of Justice'' is that the biggest fraudsters of all the U.K. government are it seems exempt from the fraud clampdown so they are able to still carry on paying we O.A.P. claimants frozen pensions although we have paid in full over the years for our benefits.

Strangely though my public service pensions are indexed linked and thus I receive the appropriate C.O.L. increase each year.

There is a link to a current ongoing campaign to get our pensions unfrozen in T.V.if you wish to add your voice to the campaign

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by siampolee

Assuming that you are living in Thailand:-

1. How to claim

You can claim your basic State Pension abroad.

You should be sent a claim form 4 months before you reach your State Pension age.

Contact the International Pension Centre (IPC) if you haven’t received a letter 3 months before you reach State Pension age. You can do this by email or phone, or fill in the international claim form. You’ll need the IBAN and BIC numbers for your overseas account.

Check you’re eligible for a State Pension before you contact the IPC.

International Pension Centre
[email protected]
Telephone: +44 (0)191 218 7777
Textphone: +44 (0)191 218 7280
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm

You can also have it paid into your Thai bank account

See sticky thread @ top of 'general' page.

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by evadgib

You can also have it paid into your Thai bank account

As are my pensions.

U.K. State pension Is a 28 day pay period, i.e. 13 times a year. No transfer fee from the U.K however the receiving bank here in my case U.O.B..charge a 100 baht handling fee, I can live with that.

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

You might want to take a look at this link as it relates to index-linking. If you are "officially" resident here, it appears your pension won't be indexed-linked. Thailand does not have a social security agreement with the UK(. Better to have it paid in to a UK account (or somewhere else in the EEA) and then transfer it over.

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/state-pension-for-people-living-overseas

You might want to take a look at this link as it relates to index-linking. If you are "officially" resident here, it appears your pension won't be indexed-linked. Thailand does not have a social security agreement with the UK(. Better to have it paid in to a UK account (or somewhere else in the EEA) and then transfer it over.

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/state-pension-for-people-living-overseas

Why would you suggest having it paid into a UK account when someone is living in Thailand ?

It is more cost effective to have the Pension Service pay to a Thai bank account.

Assuming that you are living in Thailand:-

1. How to claim

You can claim your basic State Pension abroad.

You should be sent a claim form 4 months before you reach your State Pension age.

Contact the International Pension Centre (IPC) if you haven’t received a letter 3 months before you reach State Pension age. You can do this by email or phone, or fill in the international claim form. You’ll need the IBAN and BIC numbers for your overseas account.

Check you’re eligible for a State Pension before you contact the IPC.

International Pension Centre

[email protected]

Telephone: +44 (0)191 218 7777

Textphone: +44 (0)191 218 7280

Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm

I receive communications from the IPC - like telling I can claim when I'm 66, sent to my Thai address without any problems. They are really helpful and nice if you speak to them from my experience.

Thai Banks don't use IBAN yet, they still use Swift Code.

Only three weeks ago, I recieved a letter prom the UK Pensions office informing me that "to prevent fraud" from April next year UK Pensions cannot be paid into an account outside UK, EU and commonwealth Countries. This will apply to new applicants only and existing foreign payments are not affected.

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

why whats your problem with that..these people have paid in for years,and getting what they should......chill out old boy....

You might want to take a look at this link as it relates to index-linking. If you are "officially" resident here, it appears your pension won't be indexed-linked. Thailand does not have a social security agreement with the UK(. Better to have it paid in to a UK account (or somewhere else in the EEA) and then transfer it over.

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/state-pension-for-people-living-overseas

Why would you suggest having it paid into a UK account when someone is living in Thailand ?

It is more cost effective to have the Pension Service pay to a Thai bank account.

I claim an Australian pension, so do not have the problem about having it "indexed linked" as it automatically happens for us.

However I do have mine paid into an AUS bank & will always do so for the following reasons:

(a) I still use an AUS credit card so I can pay it off easily through my internet banking & also have the security of that bank against fraud & also for adjusting my credit limit when necessary (could not get a proper credit card here in Thailand)

( My bank gives very good conversion rates whereas if I had the government transfer it I would have no control over the conversion rate

© The pension money is available earlier from my AUS bank than it would be if transferred to my THAI bank

(d) When I travel back to AUS my payments are more convenient being in my home bank

The only disadvantage is you need to be happy using internet banking, which suits me fine.

The biggest reason is having control of your own money. I would sooner discuss banking problems with an English speaking bank than a Thai speaking bank!

In short, it's a no-brainer for me.

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

why whats your problem with that..these people have paid in for years,and getting what they should......chill out old boy....

60% of UK citizens are net benefit recipients (& nearly 2/3 of all benefits go on the elderly) so there's a good chance he's already taken out more than he's paid in, let's fight beneft fraud fairly and consistently.

Best to maintain your identity in the UK as well as you can.

Many benefits to a continued UK presence, no advantage at all to being officially in Thailand.

The banks don't like it.

Financial services don't like it.

Etc.

@Elliott

Most of the benefits recipients rarely leave the UK for extended periods.

Those of us able to live overseas are usually givers, and not the takers.

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by FiftyTwo

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

why whats your problem with that..these people have paid in for years,and getting what they should......chill out old boy....

dont think AyG has a problem, think he is justing point out the legal apsect of this...is he factually incorrect somehow and its not fraud ?

Why ya getting all defensive ?

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by Soutpeel

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

why whats your problem with that..these people have paid in for years,and getting what they should......chill out old boy....

dont think AyG has a problem, think he is justing point out the legal apsect of this...is he factually incorrect somehow and its not fraud ?

Why ya getting all defensive ?

It is not considered fraud.

And nobody caught doing it, was ever taken to court, accused of fraud.

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by FiftyTwo

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

why whats your problem with that..these people have paid in for years,and getting what they should......chill out old boy....

dont think AyG has a problem, think he is justing point out the legal apsect of this...is he factually incorrect somehow and its not fraud ?

Why ya getting all defensive ?

You (and he) are factually incorrect, it is not considered fraud.

And nobody caught doing it, was ever taken to court, accused of fraud.

Were did i state it was fraud ? and even asked the question is this factually incorrect ?.....put ya glasses on old boy

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

why whats your problem with that..these people have paid in for years,and getting what they should......chill out old boy....

Because it is fraud and if discovered could be very detrimental.

ie be obliged to pay a fine equivalent to the total over payment plus interest.

You advise them to risk that....

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by jacko45k

@SP

My post edited after putting on my glasses!

A friend of mine has just been caught out and has been told that they will now collect 3 years over payment from him by pension reduction he was using a friends address in the UK. He tells me he will now have his pension reduced by £75 per month which no doubt will hurt him but that is what happens if you get caught. As a matter of interest anyone who gets a UK OAP and returns to the UK for a holiday for example a month is entitled to the current pension increase for that month it is just a matter of informing the DOE giving details of entry and proposed departure date.

A friend of mine has just been caught out and has been told that they will now collect 3 years over payment from him by pension reduction he was using a friends address in the UK. He tells me he will now have his pension reduced by £75 per month which no doubt will hurt him but that is what happens if you get caught. As a matter of interest anyone who gets a UK OAP and returns to the UK for a holiday for example a month is entitled to the current pension increase for that month it is just a matter of informing the DOE giving details of entry and proposed departure date.

So you agree, not fraud then.

Just out of interest, how was he caught?

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by FiftyTwo

I do hope this isn't an enquiry about claiming to be in the UK and so getting your pension increased over the years in line with UK inflation versus claiming to be in the UK and having the pension amount frozen for the rest of your life. If you're resident in Thailand that would be fraud.

I must admit, I am vaguely interested in what will happen when I retire, as I can see me spending rainy season (April - October - i.e. Summer), living in the UK, while wintering in Thailand. Would my pension be frozen while in Thailand, then jump up again each time I'm back in the UK. - and when I return to Thailand, would it still be frozen at the rate when I retire, or does it reset to the rate when you last lived in the UK.

Given the recent changes to restrict FULL state pensions to people with 30 qualifying years of contributions, and the fact I've spent 12 years abroad, I'm not even sure I'll end up getting a full state pension. I am not intending to rely on it, because western governments are bankrupting themselves with entitlement spending and I fully expect them to run out of money paying pensions for the "baby boomers". They might end up deciding that the way to deal with the obvious unfairness of the frozen pension retirement country lottery (pension frozen if you retire to Thailand or Canada, not frozen if you retire to the Philippines or the USA, etc.), is to simply freeze the pensions of everyone.

As someone who informed the authorities of my residence in Thailand and who subsequently receives a non indexed pension, even though I did make NI contributions for 44 yrs. I would advice the OP to keep it secret where he now lives, and to have his pension paid into his UK bank, and in doing so he will received it indexed linked.

I'm sure some people will reply that I am encouraging fraud, well in my opion and that of tens of thousand of other pensioner who are in the same situation, the British Government committed fraud when they took my Ni from me with no intention of paying me a fully indexed pension simply because I reside in Thailand.

#5!

Only three weeks ago, I recieved a letter prom the UK Pensions office informing me that "to prevent fraud" from April next year UK Pensions cannot be paid into an account outside UK, EU and commonwealth Countries. This will apply to new applicants only and existing foreign payments are not affected.

Can you scan and post it here without you personal details. I can't find anything about this on the website. Thanks

See sticky thread @ top of 'general' page.

Sticky thread is too huge and diverse

I claimed my pension while living here in Thailand, no problem at all, you have the option of having it paid into a U.K. bank account or they will send it direct to your bank in Thailand.

Ensure that if it is being paid into a Thai bank that they send it as Pounds Sterling or you will have a lower exchange rate.

If you still have a valid address you can use in the U.K, some prefer to draw their pension there. At least you still get the increments which are so unfairly disallowed if you draw your pension overseas!

If you still have a valid address you can use in the U.K, some prefer to draw their pension there. At least you still get the increments which are so unfairly disallowed if you draw your pension overseas!

• National Benefit Fraud Hotline 0800 854 440 – or 0800 678 3722 for Welsh speakers – Textphone users call 0800 328 0512

• Benefit thieves – It’s not if we catch you, it’s when
• A full range of penalties
• What is benefit theft?
• Benefit thieves going abroad
• Benefit theft – we want to hear about it
• Report a benefit thief online

Cymraeg

What is benefit theft? Everyone who commits benefit fraud is a benefit thief!

Many people assume that benefit theft applies only to those who are working for 'cash in hand' whilst claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance. This is not the case. All benefit theft is crime.

Benefit theft includes deliberately not telling us:

• you are now living with a partner
• about any savings or not telling us the right amount
• children have left home
• you have started work, or about any earnings
• you have inherited money
• you are going abroad, living abroad, or have changed address.

There are no exceptions. People who knowingly withhold information or deliberately fail to report a change in their circumstances are benefit thieves. It is not ‘playing the game' – it is breaking the law!

You are responsible for keeping your claim up to date.

It’s not if we catch you, it’s when. And when we do, you could face a prison sentence.