# British Pension deposited into Lloyds International bank account?



## bettaforu (Jul 13, 2009)

OK I am an ex-pat living in Canada. I am a woman of pension age (not rec'd it yet) and as Canada doesn't have an agreement with Britian I will get a lot less pension sent over here than say if I lived in the US or the UK. 

IF I set up an international account in the Channel Islands with Lloyds and have my pension deposited there, will I get the indexed pension as if I lived in the UK?
Would they consider that as having a UK address???? I know other people in Canada have their British Pensions deposited in British banks and get the full pension that way...but as I don't have any relatives/friends left over there I don't have a address or bank account in Britian.

I want to know if I use the International off-shore banking system will Britian consider that I have a UK address and pay me as if I am living in the UK??


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

bettaforu said:


> OK I am an ex-pat living in Canada. I am a woman of pension age (not rec'd it yet) and as Canada doesn't have an agreement with Britian I will get a lot less pension sent over here than say if I lived in the US or the UK.
> 
> IF I set up an international account in the Channel Islands with Lloyds and have my pension deposited there, will I get the indexed pension as if I lived in the UK?
> Would they consider that as having a UK address???? I know other people in Canada have their British Pensions deposited in British banks and get the full pension that way...but as I don't have any relatives/friends left over there I don't have a address or bank account in Britain.
> ...


As you note, there is no totalisation agreement between the UK and Canada, only a waiver of double contributions agreement. If you are UK-nonresident and do not live in a counttry (EU/EEA/Switzerland/USA) with a totalisation agreement you will not get annual COLAs except for periods in which you are in fact resident in such a country.

What you are proposing is fraud and puts you at risk. Having a bank account in the Channel Islands will not qualify you unless you are actually resident there. 

Here's a source of supportive info for you: www.pension-parity-uk.com - NEWS Etc.From many different sources

You may possibly qualify for a partial CPP or QPP annuity. And you may qualify for Old Age Security in Canada Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

There is one workaround for you. NI state pension is paid in dollars with COLA to US residents by the British Embassy in Washington. This is because of strict non-discrimination law regarding Social Security, and the UK Government acceded to reciprocal payments, and later to totalization, because of the US "nuclear option" -- otherwise retirees in the UK would have received zero pension. 

There is one easy workaround used by many, especially Canadian residents with a holiday home, in Florida say, or south of Buffalo NY. Contrive to be dual resident US-Can, with a US mailing address for your UK State Pension.


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

Punktlich2 said:


> As you note, there is no totalisation agreement between the UK and Canada, only a waiver of double contributions agreement. If you are UK-nonresident and do not live in a counttry (EU/EEA/Switzerland/USA) with a totalisation agreement you will not get annual COLAs except for periods in which you are in fact resident in such a country.
> 
> What you are proposing is fraud and puts you at risk. Having a bank account in the Channel Islands will not qualify you unless you are actually resident there.
> 
> ...


If you live near the US border and if you have the means to do this I sugest you contrive to qualify for US Medicare. This requires a social security number and depending on your personal status (nationality, qualifications) you may qualify under NAFTA or some other scheme. Ten years (40 quarters) of Social Security coverage at minimum levels costs about $700 a year in SET/FICA. Google "Quarters of Coverage". But the SSA site seems down the last fewe days; you can find it archived at Quarter of Coverage

Medicare is a good backup to provincial health plans and private insurance. You would probably also get a very modest US Social Security pension, limited however by the Windfall Elimination Provision.

You can generally file US tax returns (resident or nonresident) with self-employment income or other covered earnings for six years in arrears. You then need four years more in the future. If you decide to do this, make sure you know what you are doing, or get a good accountant.


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