Expat & Expat-Thai: Pension

How Do You Plan To Collect Your Pension?

If you’re already receiving one or imminently about to start drawing a pension, then forward planning is required. If you are a Brit, you need to keep a UK address to protect your pension rights, this can be overlooked too easily.

If you inform the UK pensions department you have moved outside the EU, it is quite probable you will in the future not qualify for any annual rate of inflation increase awarded to all other UK residents. For this reason if you keep a UK mailing address and also have your pension paid directly into a UK bank account, then organise yourself to transfer it abroad, then no one is any the wiser.

How do you plan to transfer your pension to be able to spend it in your new residence?

The best way seems to be (as above) to keep a bank account in your home country into which your regular payments are credited - be it a pension or other regular income from shares or whatever. Then you can arrange to have it transferred to your bank account in your chosen country of residence. A good option is to perhaps have a three montly transfer (assuming you can afford to do this at this frequency), this will reduce your transfer charges. See our bank account page.

We strongly suggest seeking professional advice before you move, in order to ensure you don't lose out through negligence.

If you haven't paid all your contributions to your state or private pension scheme then it's fairly obvious you will only qualify for a reduced pension. So don't just hope it will be alright, you need to check before you move abroad as to what level of pension you can expect to receive, come the due date. Make sure you contact you pension provider to ensure you are covered for any reasonable eventualities.

Something else to consider is if you are married to a foreigner. What rights (if any) can they expect if you become incapacitated or worse still - die? Will they be able to care for you from your pension? Will they have any chance of financial support after your demise?

If you have a foreign spouse, remember that even if your pension will provide for them if you die first, it is very important that any marriage in you new home country is formally registered as legal and also registered with your own embassy to provide for this eventuality.

Also will your pension cover you for medical expenses - or is it up to you to arrange your own medical insurance? If so, see our health insurance page.