I will qualify for my UK state pension in December.

I have already received an estimate from the pensions office.

I would welcome any tips (from members who have already done it) on claiming the pension whilst in Thailand.

For example, I wish to have the money paid into my UK bank account, whereas the UK pension website appears to be pushing me towards having it sent directly to an overseas bank account. Which is the best option?

 It seems that I need to send the pensions office a printed and signed application form together with my birth certificate. What’s the best way to do this? Post office or courier?

I would be very grateful for any advice from those who have personal experience of these and any other matters relating to applying for a UK pension.

Thanks in advance.

Download the claim form and fill it in.

There are 21 pages.

You give details of the bank you want it paying into.

Most seem to opt to having it paid into the Thai bank free of charge and a good rate.

Post it using EMS.

It will cost you around 1,350 Baht postage.

It will take about a week to get there and they will return your original documents very quickly.

Your claim will take a lot longer to be dealt with.

Full details here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-claiming-a-state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad

Personally, I find the EMS charge to be obscene.

 

 

I would email/scan everything to DWP and spend 17 Baht sending it airmail.

 

My first option would be to have a friend take it back to England and post from there.

Many thanks for your reply Litebeer

Do you (or anyone else) have details about bank charges etc?

I have always thought that the cheapest (and safest) option was to have the money paid into a UK bank account and move it over here whenever needed.

 

Also does anybody know how long, on average, they take to deal with the claim, i.e. how long before you get the money paid in?

 

Thanks too Jip99

Are you suggesting that emailing a scanned version of the form is acceptable to the pensions people?

 

 

The day you get your pension depends on your NI number.
The last 2 digits determine your payday.
It does not start on your 65th birthday.
You should then get paid every 28 days in arrears.

And every 28 days means you will receive 13 payments a year.  In one month each year you will receive a payment on, say, the 2nd of the month and another on the 30th.

 

 

As said download the printed claims form and fill it in and keep a copy so you remember what you wrote.

 

Fill out the UK bank info on the page asking for details, don't know about others l decided and chose to get mine paid direct into my Thai bank and glad l did it, if you decide this, make sure you give them the swift IBAN number.

 

As said send Thai EMS they will not except copies,  emails or hand signals, only originals. 

 

You can always ring the IPC and they will ring you back if you ask them when you have any difficulty filling any pages on the claims form.