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Pension from UK while in the Philippines

Discussion in 'Migrating to the Philippines' started by jsp1982, Mar 8, 2021.

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  1. jsp1982
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    jsp1982 New Member

    Hi folks. Anyone can help me to find out how my husband can get his pension later on? As I've said on my previous thread, we're planning to migrate to the Philippines by next year ( hopefully when the pandemic is over ). My question is, he is 63 at the moment and have checked online that he can claim pension by 2024. What will happen when we go to the Philippines? I heard from a friend that he needs to go every after six months every year ( twice a year ) to the UK to keep his pension. Does he really need to do it after six months once we move back to the Philippines?

    Thanks a lot , any advices or info are appreciated xx
    jsp1982, Mar 8, 2021
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  2. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    This is the link you need State Pension if you retire abroad - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

    When he reaches retirement age he would use the above procedure within 4 months of his retirement to get the process started, because the Philippines has a reciprocal Social Security treaty with the UK he will get the annual increases that British Pensioners resident in the UK get, this is not the case for ex-pat pensioners living in countries like Canada but luckily the Philippines is on the list for reciprocal Social Security.

    Whether he gets the money paid in the Philippines or in the UK you will face currency fluctuations and exchange rate risks, it is worth checking closer to the time exactly what the UK will charge and what rate you will get when they do the transfer, personally I would take the 13 week payment frequency although that does potentially expose you to larger exchange rate risk at the time of payment.

    The link above explains how to contact the International Pension Service.

    As far as I know this is not true, there are proof of life requirements I believe but I am sure they can be done at or through the British Embassy.
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  3. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Just an additional note on the Proof of Life thing, apparently the British Embassy is no longer supposed to do this but there is a full list of all those who can help you if the DWP send a Life Certificate request.

    Microsoft Word - Life_Certificate_Witness_Options.docx (publishing.service.gov.uk)
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  4. Heathen
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    Heathen Active Member

    I heard from a friend that he needs to go every after six months every year ( twice a year ) to the UK to keep his pension. Does he really need to do it after six months once we move back to the Philippines?

    Thats a new one to me, I have a vague recollection that you have to prove he is still alive probably every 12 months, which would i presume involve a visit to the British embassy in Manila, I very much doubt that he would have to return to the Uk especially every 6 months..

    I found this which may be relative..

    If you’re asked to fill in a ‘life certificate’
    You may get a ‘life certificate’ form from the Department for Work and Pensions to check you’re still eligible for the State Pension.

    You need to get the form signed by a witness. The instructions are on the form.

    Your witness does not have to live in the UK or have a passport from any specific country.

    The people who can sign the form are the same as those who can ‘countersign’ a passport photo.

    Your payments may be suspended if you do not send the form back.

    That seems much easier than flying back to the UK if its only a form..
    Heathen, Mar 8, 2021
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  5. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Next month I apply for my state pension for payments commencing sometime in August. However I am resident in the U.K. My understanding is that if overseas one is still eligible regardless. No trip back to the U.K. required. I seem to recall that there is something different about the U.K. state pension payments overseas compared to the U.K. but I cannot recall what that is.

    A friend of mine is living in Ilo Ilo and told me he wasn’t going to bother claiming the state pension as he has a healthy private pension, however he may have changed his mind and I talked him through the process.

    I have had a statement from the Dept of Work and Pensions containing what they will pay me and along with a little from the IOM Treasury I should be getting around £1000 a month.

    You can go online and get a statement and view every years contributions that have been made, any ineligible years aswell as qualifying years etc etc. I have even spoken to them on the phone.
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2021
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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  6. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    That's nuts who wouldn't claim their state pension, the links I provided lead to pages where it says the maximum you can claim back if you fail to claim on time and have not officially deferred your pension is 12 months, so by not claiming he could lose thousands, cash is cash and if you're entitled to it why not have it.

    The point you thinking about is UK ex-pats who move to most other countries have their pension frozen at the level it is initially set, for me and probably for you if you are due the full new state pension that's £175 a week just now, by the time I retire it will be close to £200 a week, if I went to live in Australia for example then it would be fixed at £200 a week until I die, it would never increase, same for Canada and many other countries, extremely unfair luckily the Philippines is an exception and gets the same increases as the UK, the treaty for that was signed back in the 1970s.

    Depending on your SERPS and SSP history it is also possible to get more than the New State Pension maximum but most people have been contracted out at some point and that tends to put the kybosh on that, I was contracted out and will only ever get the max New State Pension.
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  7. jsp1982
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    jsp1982 New Member

    thanks all for the replies, I really appreciate it. At least we have an idea now before moving to the Philippines x
    jsp1982, Mar 8, 2021
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  8. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    I think I know why he wouldn’t. I know another guy like that too. Once you make a claim you become known to them, if you weren’t known before. :D Something like that.

    I can’t think of any other reason except on a very good personal pension.
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2021
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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  9. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    That was the one, yes.
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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  10. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I know the type :) but even if loaded, if the pension is actually a pension and not just stashed cash savings then the government know all about it already.
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  11. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Some people have earned pensions while working overseas. The government won’t know about them.
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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  12. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    And some will have stashed money overseas but governments are catching onto that.

    Yeah true overseas pensions will be fairly invisible but if they spent a lot of time accruing a pension overseas there is a good chance they never paid enough NI contributions to accumulate a decent state pension in the UK.

    Stashing money abroad has also become harder in recent years as governments have cracked down on banking privacy, I had a friend who stashed about 100,000 of earnings in a Swiss bank account, I noticed that he dissolved his old business a good few years ago when the Swiss started handing out names of account owners to the UK Government :)
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  13. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    I have 40 years of U.K. stamps paid and about 5 from IOM. My state pension was calculated as being the higher of the old and new state pension, for the U.K.

    I have an estimated starting amount. A deduction has already been made for contracted out. The U.K. and IOM state pension combined comes to £246.13 pw adjusted for the triple lock increase in April.

    Everyone I speak to has a different “deal”.
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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  14. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Typically their employer pays into an overseas pension fund directly. I know what you mean about not paying into the U.K. fund which means they would get less anyway, so wouldn’t bother claiming for that reason.
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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  15. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I have a friend who is on that kind of State pension, your age means you only qualify for the New State Pension but they will not make you worse off than you would have been under SERPS and SSP, it means you were never contracted out of SERPS or SSP or at least if you were it was for a very short time, you might even have some Graduated Pension in there as that dates back to the 1970s.

    I was contracted out for about 18 years, one of my pensions has the contracted out component it will be worth about £30 a week, most people who contracted out made a bad decision, it was all the rage at one time but they stopped advising it nearly 20 years ago.
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  16. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    I think I was contracted out for a short space of time. I think that is what it is.

    I phoned the Dep Work and Pensions a few years ago 2017 and asked the guy about this several times over just to make sure they hadn’t made a mistake.
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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  17. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    Lot of people out there just flying under the radar for whatever reason, the PI is a very good place to go dark :like:
    Druk1, Mar 8, 2021
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  18. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    These are my missing and part years where I did not pay a full year of NI, but the online site does not tell you what your contracting out status was, while I was self employed I was by definition contracted out of SERPS, your pension figure shows what a good deal SERPS and SSP were and why the government got rid of both :)

    upload_2021-3-8_22-4-46.png
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  19. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Not sure that is as easy as it once was though.
    oss, Mar 8, 2021
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  20. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Yes, I have something similar. I have a few missing years such as when in IOM and while being paid by my earliest employers who didn’t pay NI as they were overseas companies paying me in their own currency. But I still have 40 years of U.K. stamps paid.
    Anon220806, Mar 8, 2021
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