pension & winter fuel questions

wimbleQ

Hi everyone,

I'm posting for my father and have some questions about state pension and winter fuel entitlement.

Father moved to Spain about 4/5 years ago. He gets a small state pension paid into a Uk bank which he withdraws in Spain. He's 66, doesnt work and has no other income except the pension.

We're worried as have now discovered he should've filled in forms telling the government here he was leaving the country. He didnt and part of the reason was because the place he bought in Spain was a nightmare - 5 years down the road it still hasn't been signed off by the Spanish authorities and this means it's not recognised by Spanish postal authorities and so he hasn't got a postal address in Spain and many other problems. It's a really long, unhappy story.

Anyway he wants to do the right thing now about getting his pension transferred and finding out whether he can get winter fuel benefit also paid directly to him in Spain.

Please can anyone help on stuff like what forms to fill in, what he is entitled to and if he's gonna get in trouble with the government here for not telling them 5 yrs ago?!:o Also what can we do re him not having an address in Spain to give the government here?

Hoping someone can make some suggestions. Thank you very much.

EdInvestor

IIRC you have to be living in the UK when you first claim the winter fuel allowance to be able to get it paid subsequently when you are living abroad.

If the pension authorities still think he is in the UK he should automatically start getting the fuel allowance once he starts getting his state pension. When did he turn 65? It's normally paid in October/November automatically to the same account as the pension payments go into. You don't usually need to actually claim it.

Does he receive pension credit?

As far as his Spanish address is concerned, can he not get a PO box at the local post office?

chesky369

Are you absolutely sure that he hasn't actually received it directly into his bank account? As EdInvestor says, this payment is usually automatically paid, unless the state pension has been deferred (which doesn't sound the case here).