UK State Pension - How does one get it paid in Thai baht into a Thai bank account ?

[Pumpuynarak]

I'm already receiving a UK state pension and have it paid into my UK bank account but i'm thinking of having it paid into my Thai bank account.

 

What is the process to achieve this, is it purely a case of contacting the UK DWP by phone or can it be done online ?

 

Has anyone experience of doing this ?

 

How does the exchange rate used by the UK DWP compare to Wise rate ?

 

Thanks for any help guys.

[john luke]

30 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

I'm already receiving a UK state pension and have it paid into my UK bank account but i'm thinking of having it paid into my Thai bank account.

 

What is the process to achieve this, is it purely a case of contacting the UK DWP by phone or can it be done online ?

 

Has anyone experience of doing this ?

 

How does the exchange rate used by the UK DWP compare to Wise rate ?

 

Thanks for any help guys.

My view would be don't.  Over the course of a year, I think you would lose a lot of its value.

I don't know if you remember but there was a member on secrets forum; I am not sure of his name but it was something like 777 guy (It was certainly aeroplane related.). Basically he had his pension paid by Pensions Service into a Thai Bank.  I may not be 100 percent accurate but the route the money took was from Pensions Service, to a UK Bank, then to a Thai Bank and then to the Thai bank where the member had his account.  He was losing about 5 baht per UK pound.

Considering Wise and the use of on line banking apps, you can do a lot better.  Additionally by keeping control of the date when money is transferred from UK Pound to Thai Baht you can adjust things slightly to get the best rate going, providing off course you are not desparate for the money on the day it is paid.

Ultimately a personal decision but I hope the above assists.

 

[Bazle]

Is there not a (theoretical) Thai tax issue here? 

My understanding is that the Thais cannot tax the pension if it is not remitted to Thailand in the year in which it is paid. 

[Pumpuynarak]

2 minutes ago, Bazle said:

Is there not a (theoretical) Thai tax issue here? 

My understanding is that the Thais cannot tax the pension if it is not remitted to Thailand in the year in which it is paid. 

Good question which i don't know the answer to. 

[Jambo]

2 hours ago, Bazle said:

Is there not a (theoretical) Thai tax issue here? 

My understanding is that the Thais cannot tax the pension if it is not remitted to Thailand in the year in which it is paid. 

I was never taxed on my UK pension(s) in Thailand. It is of course aggregated with any other taxable income that falls due within the UK.

If the pension is paid into a UK bank account and then remitted to Thailand by Wise into a Thai bank account as required how would Thailand ever know it was pension income? I have found Wise to be excellent and their fees are highly competitive.

[john luke]

https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/ipc/personal-details

 

The above is the on line form to contact UK International Pensions Service.  

@Pumpuynarak

[boydeste]

Is there a consideration to whether you get any increases due to you living in Thailand? Assuming that they would never know if it is paid into a UK bank account.

[Yesitisdakid]

If your thai account is Bangkok bank just give them your BBK infro and it goes into the london branch and automatically its accessable here in Thailand. Striderman just did this a few months ago no issues. 

[Proffesor]

I was given to understand that the UK government put the process of administering payment tof the UK state pensions to overseas recipients out to tender. CitiBank won the bid with a Negative Offer - they would pay the government for the opportunity to administer the payments. So the government paid a lumpsum to Citibank in GBP. Citibank converted it to USD, and split the Lump into individual Payments before distributing them worldwide in multiple local currencies. Obviously, CitiBank controlled the Exchange Rate at every step.

So, I found an email address for a nice fella that works in the Newcastle Branch of the UK Pensions office. I contacted him and asked him to reroute my Pension payment direct into my Wise GBP account; which he willingly did.

I have a Thai Work Permit, so am taxed here in Thailand.

I let the GBP build-up in my Wise GBP account, and when I think the exchange Rate is good, transfer / exchange it into my Wise THB account. As Bazzle said, Funds remitted into Thailand in the year of remittance are subject to Thai taxation. The Thai Tax Year is Jan 01 > Dec 31. I transfer most of my Thai Baht from my Wise THB account direct to my Bangkok or Kasikorn bank accounts in early January - so the ( Thai Tax ) year after they are remitted to me by the UK government -= and hence they are exempt from Thai tax.

If I were ever to be desperate for funds, I have the option of transferring THB from Wise at any time, but it would then be subject to Thai tax.

If anybody needs it, I believe I still have the email address for the nice geordie fella . . . . 

 

[tommy dee]

got to have at least 10 years contributions now to get a penny but u can make it up by lump payment before retirement i think

[Horizondave]

I would check first about being paid into a Thai bank account (not the DWP) as they may assume you live in Thailand and your pension would not be indexed link. I presume you are getting an index linked account based on you being normally resident in the UK. If you spend more time in Thailand (over 6 months a year) then officially you are not normally resident in the UK and you may have issues. You don't want anybody checking how long you are in the UK each year.

I would make checks elsewhere with a professional, maybe somebody who has this knowledge;  you talk with the DWP direct and it may set up some red flags unless of course your pension is not indexed linked now

Remember next April the pension might be going up by about 10 pc but it doesn't apply to those living in Thailand.

Edited July 19, 2022 by Horizondave

[bexwell]

There's a Bangkok Bank in London, couldn't you open an account in Thailand then get it paid into the London Branch?

[Yesitisdakid]

4 hours ago, bexwell said:

There's a Bangkok Bank in London, couldn't you open an account in Thailand then get it paid into the London Branch?

Yes as there are others here I know that have done just that worked a treat

[Pumpuynarak]

15 hours ago, boydeste said:

Is there a consideration to whether you get any increases due to you living in Thailand? Assuming that they would never know if it is paid into a UK bank account.

I don't get any increases BD, the DWP have my address in Thailand. I did'nt wish to criminalise myself for the sake of their measly increases but thats me. Good luck to any guys claiming the increases when actually living in Thailand, they have my best wishes. 

[Pumpuynarak]

11 hours ago, Horizondave said:

I would check first about being paid into a Thai bank account (not the DWP) as they may assume you live in Thailand and your pension would not be indexed link. I presume you are getting an index linked account based on you being normally resident in the UK. If you spend more time in Thailand (over 6 months a year) then officially you are not normally resident in the UK and you may have issues. You don't want anybody checking how long you are in the UK each year.

I would make checks elsewhere with a professional, maybe somebody who has this knowledge;  you talk with the DWP direct and it may set up some red flags unless of course your pension is not indexed linked now

Remember next April the pension might be going up by about 10 pc but it doesn't apply to those living in Thailand.

 

2 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

I don't get any increases BD, the DWP have my address in Thailand. I did'nt wish to criminalise myself for the sake of their measly increases but thats me. Good luck to any guys claiming the increases when actually living in Thailand, they have my best wishes. 

 

[Zambo]

On 7/19/2022 at 9:20 PM, tommy dee said:

got to have at least 10 years contributions now to get a penny but u can make it up by lump payment before retirement i think

I have another 10 years of contributions to pay and have recently asked GOV.UK how many of those can be paid as a lump sum. But i'm not sure yet whether these 10 years can be paid as Class 2 or Class 3. The difference in the weekly amount is a lot.

[tommy dee]

42 minutes ago, Zambo said:

I have another 10 years of contributions to pay and have recently asked GOV.UK how many of those can be paid as a lump sum. But i'm not sure yet whether these 10 years can be paid as Class 2 or Class 3. The difference in the weekly amount is a lot.

what do the classes mean pls

[john luke]

53 minutes ago, tommy dee said:

what do the classes mean pls

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/state-pension/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions-and-the-state-pension

 

It is a voluntary organisation but fairly informative. 

[nampla69]

1 hour ago, tommy dee said:

what do the classes mean pls

Hope this helps young Thomas ...

[Zambo]

11 hours ago, nampla69 said:

Hope this helps young Thomas ...

I think that answers my question and I need to pay Class 3. The reason i had a slight hope for Class 2 is in the table below.

 

For tax year 2022/23

Type	Weekly amount
Class 2	£3.15
Class 3	£15.85

[Bazle]

2 hours ago, Zambo said:

I think that answers my question and I need to pay Class 3. The reason i had a slight hope for Class 2 is in the table below.

 

For tax year 2022/23

Type	Weekly amount
Class 2	£3.15
Class 3	£15.85

I suggest that you have a read of this page and others on the government website:

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/who-can-pay-voluntary-contributions

I would also suggest getting professional advice before making any top-up payment. 

[Zambo]

21 minutes ago, Bazle said:

I suggest that you have a read of this page and others on the government website:

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/who-can-pay-voluntary-contributions

I would also suggest getting professional advice before making any top-up payment. 

Thank you, that has me wondering again about Class 2. I was working in the UK and then left a few years ago to work overseas. I kept up NI payments for a while and then stopped.

I wrote a letter to HMRC a couple of weeks ago and i suggested i could pay 10 years of Class 2 and if they agree how can i pay. Depending on the reply i will think what the next move is.

[Zambo]

9 minutes ago, Zambo said:

I wrote a letter to HMRC a couple of weeks ago

Just logged onto the Government Gateway. Seems ok so far

"........ taking longer than estimated to process.

We are either doing technical work for it, or are busier than usual."

1. Estimated completion

   26 Jul 2022

2. Being processed

3. Work started

4. Received on

   05 Jul 2022

[Jambo]

2 hours ago, Zambo said:

Just logged onto the Government Gateway. Seems ok so far

"........ taking longer than estimated to process.

We are either doing technical work for it, or are busier than usual."

1. Estimated completion

   26 Jul 2022

2. Being processed

3. Work started

4. Received on

   05 Jul 2022

Taking it in turn to go off on sick leave with covid.

Just like the train drivers.

And many others.

[Zambo]

32 minutes ago, Jambo said:

Taking it in turn to go off on sick leave with covid.

Just like the train drivers.

And many others.

Yes but I can't really complain as i'm following up on a letter i received from them in 2016.