Family Quota

Hi Mother Bear

I do not yet get my state pension ( 7 years to go ), however Pam has been receiving her's since April of this year and it does go into a UK bank account. That is because we have not yet informed any UK Government department we have emmigrated to NZ. We assume that as soon as we do, this will trigger a halt to annual increases and we guess that there is a case for not telling them. That will probable create more problem that enough ( what UK address will we give when our mail re-direction ends after 1 year)

We both have UK occupational pensions paid into UK bank accounts and we will continue to have all pensions paid this way, paying UK income tax and then waiting for the "self-assessment" form from NZ Inland Revenue next year. Of course our UK personnal allowance and the 10% tax band mean that we pay little tax on our pensions. Here it is almost 20% on all of it, less what we pay in the UK.

There are a couple of cases going through the courts regarding people who have emigrated to countries outside the EU and who are contesting the rule that annual increases do not apply. Hopefully the outcome will be favourable,as like you I do not see why we should be treated any differently simply because we choose to emigrate to NZ rather than France or Spain.

Pam & Dave

Thanks very much for your reply, Zemanova. I know I read a couple of months ago about someone who had taken on the government regarding non-payment of annual pension increases and the government had decided, quite firmly, that the decision to withhold the increases was not an unfair one and would still stand. It?s not surprising that they don?t think it?s unfair as it?s they who are gaining by saving themselves money. I?d like to hear their argument for not paying the increases, as we are being penalised because of where we choose to live, as you say.

Although we have a UK bank account, we have been out of the country for several years now and are considered non-resident, so the Pension Service would probably already be aware that we are not in the UK, if they cared to check up. Looking through the Guide to State Pensions I?m doubtful that I?ll even get the pension increases while I?m in the Arabian Gulf as this area is not on the list of countries with reciprocal agreements. Short of a large windfall or God forbid, ill health, my OH will be working for about 8+ more years so I could lose out well before I even get to NZ. I?ll just have to see how the pension people approach me when the time comes (couple of years yet). I still have a son in the UK and could use his address for mail etc. but no doubt they will have it stitched up tight so that I have to own up that I no longer live in the UK. The problem with any cover-up, i.e. allowing them to believe you are still in the UK, is that, when you decide to own up that you have relocated to NZ, they may well ask for evidence of your entry into NZ i.e. visas, permits etc. which will be dated. I?m sure I?ve read something to that effect but it may have related to people working in NZ as temporary residents. Knowing us, we?d get caught out somewhere along the line :icon_rolleyes: .