Pension State Problems UK Bank Living overseas

Mrs_Arcanum

My brother gets a state pension paid into a UK bank, but withdraws the money overseas.

Recently this has stopped for no apparent reason. Trying to sort this out when your income has vanished and phone calls are extortionate is appalling.

Any advice on cutting through the red tape to get the pension paid again would be appreciated?

missbiggles1

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

My brother gets a state pension paid into a UK bank, but withdraws the money overseas.

Recently this has stopped for no apparent reason. Trying to sort this out when your income has vanished and phone calls are extortionate is appalling.

Any advice on cutting through the red tape to get the pension paid again would be appreciated?

Has he possibly received and forgotten to return a life certificate confirming that he's still alive? There's been something of a crackdown on this in the last few years for UK pensioners living abroad.

Couldn't he email to find out why this has stopped?

ETA
The International Pension Centre has an ordinary phone number and an online enquiry form he can complete.

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

Mrs_Arcanum

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Has he possibly received and forgotten to return a life certificate confirming that he's still alive? There's been something of a crackdown on this in the last few years for UK pensioners living abroad.

Couldn't he email to find out why this has stopped?

ETA
The International Pension Centre has an ordinary phone number and an online enquiry form he can complete.

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

Thanks, trouble started because we never received the form. These come to me so I can pass the information on.

missbiggles1

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

Thanks, trouble started because we never received the form. These come to me so I can pass the information on.

Why would they send a life form to a relative in the UK rather than the pensioner living overseas?

Mrs_Arcanum

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Why would they send a life form to a relative in the UK rather than the pensioner living overseas?

Because he has my address for UK purposes. If he came back to the UK it is where he would live

Mrs_Arcanum

They keep asking him to complete IPC SU 309 which he has done several times now.

Odd that the local council have no problem finding him to give him a postal vote.

Mrs_Arcanum

They also seem to ignore how the exchange rate dropping means even less of the pension is available to save for expensive proof of being alive phone calls.

missbiggles1

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

They keep asking him to complete IPC SU 309 which he has done several times now.

Odd that the local council have no problem finding him to give him a postal vote.

The IPC SU 309 is the form you complete when you initially claim your state pension from abroad - didn't you say he was already claiming it and it stopped?

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

You can't (obviously) claim you're alive by telephone, there's a specific form that needs to be completed by the claimant and also by a person of standing who knows him in the country where he lives.

Mrs_Arcanum

missbiggles1 wrote: »

The IPC SU 309 is the form you complete when you initially claim your state pension from abroad - didn't you say he was already claiming it and it stopped?

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

You can't (obviously) claim you're alive by telephone, there's a specific form that needs to be completed by the claimant and also by a person of standing who knows him in the country where he lives.

This is how difficult the whole thing is. You have people on the end of expensive phone calls telling him to do the wrong thing, rather then bothering to get him the correct information. Even a simple thing like using the e-mail they have on file seems beyond them.

Although having done a search on the .gov site, I am not surprised he keeps getting asked to do the wrong thing. The staff seem to just do a search on the site where nothing properly relevant pulls through.

xylophone

Has it been properly countersigned and returned to the correct place?

If the problem is no proof of receipt because no system exists wherever he currently resides, could he send it to you so that you could post it using PO facility?

Otherwise, have you tried contacting your MP on behalf of your brother?

Mrs_Arcanum

xylophone wrote: »

Has it been properly countersigned and returned to the correct place?

If the problem is no proof of receipt because no system exists wherever he currently resides, could he send it to you so that you could post it using PO facility?

Otherwise, have you tried contacting your MP on behalf of your brother?

He never received it. So all the problems start there. He has contacted the brand new MP and sent a letter signed by a judge proving his attendance at court.

They do not seem able to send him a replacement form for some unknown reason. So a very much alive person, is being defrauded of his pension through obfuscation by staff at the pensions department. No wonder they are claiming they are saving money, if they are deliberately being unhelpful to avoid paying people.