Increase in surveillance of state pensions for those overseas

[IloveJapan]

Hi guys, decided to post the link below, as it is quite sobering from a privacy or surveillance viewpoint:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZeJm9BbFs

Apparently the UK authorities are going to watch more closely for signs of people they think are cheating the state pension system.
In reality, I think the number of cheaters is likely to be infinitesimally small, but as usual the trashy tabloid media in the UK loves to blow everything up out of all proportions when talking about British people living overseas.
Sometimes that media paints a picture that people living overseas are all wealthy people that relax in the sun all day. Other times they say that foreign spouses shouldn’t get the state pension.
So this is yet another example of tabloid media influence on policy.

And it is quite a hard hitting video…

[Tkydon]

Hi guys, decided to post the link below, as it is quite sobering from a privacy or surveillance viewpoint:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZeJm9BbFs

Apparently the UK authorities are going to watch more closely for signs of people they think are cheating the state pension system.
In reality, I think the number of cheaters is likely to be infinitesimally small, but as usual the trashy tabloid media in the UK loves to blow everything up out of all proportions when talking about British people living overseas.
Sometimes that media paints a picture that people living overseas are all wealthy people that relax in the sun all day. Other times they say that foreign spouses shouldn’t get the state pension.
So this is yet another example of tabloid media influence on policy.

And it is quite a hard hitting video…

Totally Not Related between UK and US.

He seems to know nothing about Pension Totalization Agreements and Social Security Agreements between Countries, which he didn't mention once!
https://www.ssa.gov/international/agree ... rview.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... agreements

This topic was covered a couple of weeks ago in great detail...
viewtopic.php?t=4067

It seems HMRC will ask UK Banks for information of Overseas Acoount Holders / Pension Recipients who receive their Pension Payments to a UK Bank, to confirm whether they are resident in countries that qualify under Full Social Security Totalization Agreements for annual increases, or not.
If HMRC is paying to an overseas bank account, or through another country's Social Security System, then they would know where that bank or Social Security Office is domiciled.

[beanhead]

It seems HMRC will ask UK Banks for information of Overseas Acoount Holders / Pension Recipients who receive their Pension Payments to a UK Bank, to confirm whether they are resident in countries that qualify under Full Social Security Totalization Agreements for annual increases, or not.
If HMRC is paying to an overseas bank account, or through another country's Social Security System, then they would know where that bank or Social Security Office is domiciled.

Could this extra burden be another reason for UK banks to stop offering service to those living overseas?
I still have my NatWest account I opened when I was 12 or something (remember those bloody pigs, anyone?), but do worry that they will just close it on me one day.

[Wales4rugbyWC23]

It seems HMRC will ask UK Banks for information of Overseas Acoount Holders / Pension Recipients who receive their Pension Payments to a UK Bank, to confirm whether they are resident in countries that qualify under Full Social Security Totalization Agreements for annual increases, or not.
If HMRC is paying to an overseas bank account, or through another country's Social Security System, then they would know where that bank or Social Security Office is domiciled.

Could this extra burden be another reason for UK banks to stop offering service to those living overseas?
I still have my NatWest account I opened when I was 12 or something (remember those bloody pigs, anyone?), but do worry that they will just close it on me one day.

I remember the pigs!!! My son has got my Mr Pig- the bank manager with a black suit and red bowtie on his mantelpiece in his bedroom.

[RetireJapan]

I opened my NatWest account when I was 12 too. Still use it regularly. Would be somewhat put out if they closed it on me

[Roger Van Zant]

It seems HMRC will ask UK Banks for information of Overseas Acoount Holders / Pension Recipients who receive their Pension Payments to a UK Bank, to confirm whether they are resident in countries that qualify under Full Social Security Totalization Agreements for annual increases, or not.
If HMRC is paying to an overseas bank account, or through another country's Social Security System, then they would know where that bank or Social Security Office is domiciled.

Could this extra burden be another reason for UK banks to stop offering service to those living overseas?
I still have my NatWest account I opened when I was 12 or something (remember those bloody pigs, anyone?), but do worry that they will just close it on me one day.

A few years ago when I was back in the UK, I just changed the address on my NatWest account from my parents' address to my sister's. I was surprised NatWest allowed me to do this. As proof of address, I just took a utility bill with my sister's name and address on it. I told them I was living at my sister's house for a bit (technically true, for two weeks!) and that my parents were planning to sell their house (100% true), so I needed to change the address. So now all my mail from NatWest goes to my sister's house and NatWest assume I'm living in Watford....

[Wales4rugbyWC23]

I opened my NatWest account when I was 12 too. Still use it regularly. Would be somewhat put out if they closed it on me

More importantly, did you get the whole family of five pigs????

[RetireJapan]

I opened my NatWest account when I was 12 too. Still use it regularly. Would be somewhat put out if they closed it on me

More importantly, did you get the whole family of five pigs????

I just remember getting a really cool black/dark grey chequebook...

[kuma]

Just sharing the below resources as they might be of interest to the thread.

Here is the Pattaya Mail article (New British law to crack down on overseas benefit fraud starts in 2025) mentioned in the video.

The law under discussion has not yet actually been passed, and is the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. In present form, it is a 300+ page document with a variety of stated purposes for the keeping and sharing of information for a wide range of purposes, etc.

I haven't researched (apologies), but I suspect it is common that in this information age multiple countries are revising laws as to digital security and information protection, and in this interconnected age I furthermore suspect that there are laws relating to cross-juristictional sharing of information in scenarios where the lawmakers and law-upkeepers feel this is warranted. It is already standard practice for TINs to be requested in various cross-jurisdictional scenarios.

I'm also aware that some consider the UK to be a heavily surveilled state and that there is generally some pushback to any measures to reduce privacy.

Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 provides government statistics on the topic in the title. However:

Claimants who live overseas and have reported a non-GB address are not part of the SP review. An adjustment is made to the calculation on overseas Fraud and Claimant Error, concerning the late/non-notification of death, and is applied to the overpayment rates.