backtoblighty

Hey guys,

I lived in shanghai for a year, teaching and other, loved it. I'm thinking about returning on a more permanent basis, raising a family & staying..... in Shanghai, HK, Or Osaka (more towards shanghai at the mo though)

Basically, i printed out all the stuff about social security agreements from the DWP website, but it says there is no social security agreement with HK, PRC or Japan..... I still would like to pay NI every month for my future british pension, to complete my 30years of contributions. so ..... my questions are these


(a) how do we british, who stay in asia, pay this?

(maybe........ keep a bank in england, transfer money to the bank occasionally from ur job salary in asia, and get NI payments automatically paid by direct debit from ur normal bank in england???)

or i have heard that if u declare yourself an official 'expat', you get some kind of ni reduction???




(b) how do expat british guys in asia get pensions paid (when we hit the pension age) as the stuff i printed from DWP website says there is no agreeement between any my mentioned countries for transfer.....

or........ do i keep a bank in england , get it paid into there, and i guess return every to UK every year to keep it active or something??




I'm very new to all of this. I'm not working in some hot shot western multi-national and getting shipped out to asia. I'm just a normal british guy planning to move back to asia, but this time stay permanently, perhaps teach again, build myself a nice future (without fully emigrating, as might wish to come back and live in england again, e.g. after 10years)

Any friendly and useful advice much appreciated! aswell as any other websites or numbers which might be of any help.

I'm thinking of leaving in June 2009, so this time i'm really making myself well prepared about this stuff before i go, as we all know the sheer amount of useless bureacracy england has, and i really dont wish to (and wont be able to afford to) come back here more than 2 times a year, e.g. in a scenario such as: having to come back to speak to some useless customer service guy at a bank in bristol about something which i could have sorted out in a 2minute phonecall ^^

ex reg

If you are in the UK now then ring the NSI office in Newcastle and speak to someone in the overseas section.
I've always found them helpful.

IIRC you should pay Class 2 when overseas in your situation.
And you can not pay for up to six years, may be 9 years now and then pay off in a lump sum or just a year at a time.

Phone them usually better than an email or letter.

katongkaren

As ex reg said, call NSI office. They're pretty helpful - though as a "Southerner" I found the Geordie accents a bit of a struggle

On your other point, I would have thought keeping a UK bank account open is sensible, if you can. Pensions can go direct into that account. You can then either transfer by TT to your local bank account in China or Japan, or just use your ATM card in your local country. Obviously there will be charges whichever way you do it.

I think I remember that Nationwide (is that still going? I'm a bit out of touch) used to have low or no charges for ATM debits abroad? Maybe someone in the UK can confirm this?

backtoblighty

thanks for all the great advice so far

Kooky.

Is it our fault you Southerners can't speak proper, like?

OP, always always keep a UK bank account open. I've still got an overdraft limit with mine which I hope never to use but it's nice to know I have it, even if I've not had a salary paid in since 2001. I left a few grand in when we left, top it up occasionally and we've been paying DDs out of our current accounts every month since we left in 2002. I find t easy to use the Switch card when we visit, and I can transfer money to my family for presents on the net. I've recently opened a savings account with them over the phone much more easily than I could have with a new bank; they did all the paperwork for me and just sent it out for signing.

We keep our UK credit cards going too, just registered to the in-laws' address. Sometimes ordering stuff for delivery in the UK needs one.

katongkaren

Gawd blimey me not speak proper inglish?

rogerluli

I'm wondering how you plan on staying in HK or Shanghai if you are not working and have a Z visa. It is next to impossible to get a PRC permanent residency. Basically China only wants foreigners there as workers and then off you go...

backtoblighty

really have no idea what you are talking about roger... ????

i'll be working when i'm there. I'm only 29 years old lol. I was asking about N.I info mainly (but also interested in how british operate their pensions from overseas when they hit that magic age)

"news flash": most foreigners in shanghai 'dont' live on a z visa. i lived in shanghai for a year and never owned a z visa

z visa's dont mean 'permanent residency' at all. mostly only valid for 1 year, but can be renewed...

The expat pensioners in china stay on the D visa. D visa = permanent Residence. Most countries have a retirement or permanent residence visa.

I have no idea about visa's for HK, as HK is a bit different for us british... so retirement stuff might also be different.

"China is China" roger..... simply put, everything is based on conditions.... It's not impossible to get permanent residence at all. I'll look up the conditions one-day, but i'm sure they just say you have to have £XXX amount in your bank account. There are always going to be certain prejudices about applying for a permanent residence in china, so i am sure that applications for permanent residence from e.g. some mixed nationalities, might be turned down

bsosaka

Japan and the U.k. have an agreement so as long as you pay your N.I. in Japan it will count in England.

However Japan also has and extra payment for Japanese Pension. It is a seperate issue. If you are working in Japan then your employer should enroll you on one of three schemes. Though some companies are sneaky and try to save money.

If you do not pay the pension and get found out you can suddenly end up with a big bill. There are now rumours that paying into a Japanese pension scheme will be linked to your visa status. In 2010 N.I. payments will be linked.