UK Pension and Register for tax

[sarge57]

Kuma,

thank you for your detailed reply.

I have already paid to top up my pension to the maximum I can. Not sure about wife's eligibility but I know she was working full time pretty much the whole time she was in the UK, so I imagine she's as up to date as she can be ??

I looked at the form for claiming my pension as a UK resident, it didn't seem so difficult. I am surprised and dismayed to find that it is a much more complex process from overseas.

Currently I am undecided as to whether or not we will live in the UK or Japan once I retire. I am pretty much forced to quit my job when I am 65 in Japan. I am thinking of claiming the pension as a UK resident, and if it transpires that we don't go back, then transferring the pension to an overseas one. (hopefully this process will be easier than the original claim ?)

Any thoughts ? Many thanks

Sarge

[sarge57]

Re the acceptable professions to authenticate a photocopy of a birth certificate, have you ever seen such a restrictive list elsewhere?

I am ordained so can serve

Doctor might be the best option for many people, assuming you can find one willing to sign some weird foreign document...

Hi, do you think it would be easier to apply as resident in the UK and transer later if we decide to stay in Japan ?

Thanks

[sarge57]

ummmmmm ? everthing's gone ominously quiet ??

[Beaglehound]

ummmmmm ? everthing's gone ominously quiet ??

Probably nobody knows ‘tis why

i think it would likely be easier to apply for in the UK, and is possible online:

https://www.gov.uk/get-state-pension

Not sure if you are talking about actually becoming resident in the UK and applying from there, or finessing it using a UK address while still actually resident in Japan. I imagine the latter has pitfalls while the former would be perfectly possible, but a convoluted way to avoid that horrific overseas form.

[Wales4rugbyWC23]

ummmmmm ? everthing's gone ominously quiet ??

Probably nobody knows ‘tis why

i think it would likely be easier to apply for in the UK, and is possible online:

https://www.gov.uk/get-state-pension

Not sure if you are talking about actually becoming resident in the UK and applying from there, or finessing it using a UK address whileyo still actually resident in Japan. I imagine the latter has pitfalls while the former would be perfectly possible, but a convoluted way to avoid that horrific overseas form.

If you said you were residing in the UK but actually living in Japan. I am not sure if that would be legal because you would get the triple lock increases, whilst in Japan you do not get them.

[sarge57]

I have a house in the UK but I will be in Japan until I retire from work here, then I will return to the UK. I don't know whether that's finessing and I don't know what the potential pitfalls are. I was planning to apply as a Japanese resident and change it to the UK once I got there, but having seen the difference in difficulty of making the non-uk resident application, it seemed like it would be easier to just apply as a uk resident, as I will probably be there by the time I get all the documents together that they require for the non uk form.

[goodandbadjapan]

Gen Question.

For the last 10 years I have been filling out online tax returns for the UK. There has never been much income to report but I still have to fill out the whole form for both me and my wife. Do I need to keep doing this ?

thanks, Sarge

Just noticed this. Why have you been filling in the UK self-assessment?Is it because you are getting rental income from your UK property? I understand it's necessary in that case, but was just wondering if there was another reason I may be unaware of.

[sarge57]

Just noticed this. Why have you been filling in the UK self-assessment?Is it because you are getting rental income from your UK property? I understand it's necessary in that case, but was just wondering if there was another reason I may be unaware of.

Hi thanks, yes it is because of rental income,, but that would stop once we return to the UK.