Lost Australian disability pension in Thailand

[fonts]

after 13 weeks in thailand i lost my Australian disability pension.....whats my next move ?....go back for a week and then come back here again.

[Pagey]

Hang on - Where did I put that crystal ball ?..............

[richard]

I am entitled to a disability allowance BUT only if I go for a check up in a UK hospital every 3 months

Us non residents are penalised cos we come second to the immigrant scum sucking the benefits out of our country

Sure there are more qualified bods on the forum to advise (Mags, Lomu)

I gave up as the red tape was too heavy

[Dahling]

You're presumably entitled to claim disability benefit on the basis that your disability prevents you from working in the UK. If you choose not to live in the UK, I don't see how you can complain about not getting the disability benefit, since you're effectively preventing yourself from working there.

All of which is no help at all to someone from Australia...

[richard]

You're presumably entitled to claim disability benefit on the basis that your disability prevents you from working in the UK. If you choose not to live in the UK, I don't see how you can complain about not getting the disability benefit, since you're effectively preventing yourself from working there.

All of which is no help at all to someone from Australia...

I spent 50 years of my life paying taxes in England. I am still a UK resident but choose to spend most of my time in Thailand.

I have an English home, bank and doctor. I have never been on the dole, I do not have a dog and sit on pavements begging. My doctors both here in Thailand and in the UK have declared I am an invalid and unfit for work

Maybe I should go back and claim a disability allowance, coal allowance, housing allowance, free bus ticket allowance income support and the rest and bleed the tax paying bods as do all the illegal immigrant parasites

I've been told that despite being a Yorkshireman, 4 generations ago there was some Polish/Jewish blood in my family. Do you think I could claim some additional benefits on that basis?

Get real chappie

[Dahling]

I'm not doubting your disability, your outstanding contribution to the nation, your Yorkshireness or your views on immigration .
I also qualify for disability allowance in the UK, but I'd rather stay here without it than go back to the UK and claim it. It's a simple choice, so I really don't see what there is to whinge about.

[margaretcarnes]

Hi fonts - Mags here responding to the call for help! Right - I can advise on the UK benefits law, but not the Oz law, although I think they are quite similar in principal. So the fact is that most Social Security benefits have restrictions applied for those who spend lengthy times abroad.
Without knowing exactly what benefit you were on it is impossible to say exactly what Oz rules are - but as an example - if it was something like the UKs Disability Living Allowance (a non means tested benefit) then you should have first told them that you were going to be away for 3 months - and then prayed for forgiveness.
If you were on a means tested benefit - something like a sickness benefit for being unable to work - then forget it. Anything more than 2 weeks away and you are stuffed (and in the UK would be up on a charge of fraud as well.)
What can you do? Well - again rules may differ. But if its something like Disability Living Allowance which has been stopped then wait the obligatory time and claim it again. At the end of the day the payment of most Social Security benefits is dependant upon continued residency and I'm afraid thats end of story. Check on Oz websites - check on any of your benefit decision letters - tread carefully - and in particular think about how the hell the Oz authorities found out in the first place!

[Nereus]

At the end of the day the payment of most Social Security benefits is dependant upon continued residency and I'm afraid thats end of story. Check on Oz websites - check on any of your benefit decision letters - tread carefully - and in particular think about how the hell the Oz authorities found out in the first place!

The above is basically correct, it includes the aged pension also. You have to be resident, not just an address, and are obliged to notify the authorities if you leave the country, even for a two weeks holiday.
The next thing that you will lose is your Medicare Card. Despite what the Department may tell you, your departure can be, and is, tracked via your Passport.

ps: get a suntan, lose your passport and go back on a boat claiming to be an Afghan refugee, and all payments will be restored! (it is best to do this from Indonesia, they have people that run regular services)

[bapak]

Hi fonts - Mags here responding to the call for help! Right - ........... Check on Oz websites - check on any of your benefit decision letters - tread carefully - and in particular think about how the hell the Oz authorities found out in the first place!

CentreLink (the government that takes care welfare) and Immigration have cross-linked computers.

[richard]

Big brother is finally here

[caller]

All Oz Govt. departments match their data at least annually across all systems, to search for scammers, or did. No hiding place there.

The UK copied and then developed this idea many years ago (I attended the initial presentation with the guys from Oz), or at least tried to. Local Govt. in the UK, via the Audit Commission, run it, with what is called the National Fraud Initiative (NFI). This has now expanded to include all local authority staff nationally, welfare benefits, pensions, UKBA data, some private sector stuff, civil service pensioners and many others.

Its run bi-annually with ad-hoc data matching taking place all the time. Many are hoping with a change of Govt. that Central Govt. depts will play ball and participate by including their staff, just as local government staff have been checked from day 1. Many cynics like me, believe this will be the best way to reduce staffing numbers, especially within the Dept. for Work and pansions and UKBA, considering how poor central Govt are renowned for being in checking, er, the probity of their recruits.

Of course, in a perfect world, the UK would do as Oz does, but oooh nooo, thats big brother and besides, Govt. ministers are scared witless as to what it will expose on their watch (real reason for not participating).

The welfare and other systems of the UK, Ireland, Oz and NZ are closely aligned by design.

[charlesh]

Cross linked computers and privacy provisions that they hide behind so as not to answer questions - somewhat of a conundrum. I wonder how many of those former Oz residents originally from Mediterranean countries who flocked back for a fiddle with their beads , cards and coffee in the sun with a myriad of dodgy complaints still enjoy the benefits of their hard labours ??
I have met expats in LOS allegedly on sickness/compensation benefits who play a pretty handy game of golf LOL.
We now have 1000's of so called asylum seekers aka as illegal immigrants who seem to make a national sport of sending much of their benefits (unemployment/sickness/carers/job seekers) back home which of course begs the question as to how do they live in the interim. Strange to that not a small number seem to be able to make trips back home (the same places where these so called desperate/vulnerable) people come from 2 years after their arrival. Must have got savings ethics or could have something to do with them getting permanent residence/nationality acceptance.
It does however seem blatantly unfair to me that people who work and genuinely contribute can't enjoy their declining years in whatever country they chose to with an aged pension!

[Cricketer]

I've come across quite a few guys claiming UK benefit while effectively living in Thailand and finding various ways of getting their money sent to them attempting to avoid detection but no matter which way they do it they will still show up on UK gov computers that they have left the country and that their benefit money has been cashed or withdrawn in the UK. A time bomb really for these guys as they are making fraudulent claims and at best having to repay the money or at worst an early alarm call for a few months.
The computers are as charlesh mentioned "Cross Linked" and it doesn't take much for them to see that you can't be in two places at the same time. They concentrated on Spain and Portugal last year and netted many people falsely claiming UK benefit while living abroad by using this cross reference.

[dtaai-maai]

I have no problem with any govt detecting people fraudulently claiming benefits, but I'm quite shocked to see that Aussie OAPs lose their pension if they live abroad - is that correct? Shocking. Not likely to happen in the UK, I hope?

Somebody mentioned UK civil service pensions - what's the score there, Margaret?

[richard]

Don't think we are talking about losing pensions although they can be frozen.

I think we are talking about disability allowances