Philosophical 11

Interesting Stokkevn. The figure I was working on was obtained some time ago when we were just fb friends. I think maybe at that time she was working as a cook and was later transferred to being nanny. I can remember her having to cater for large parties her employers used to throw at least once per week. She was there at the babies birth to help bonding and slept, ate and lived with "her" baby since. Her employers seemed to treat their son not as a son....but part of the furniture. It was traumatic for her to leave him in Kuwait and he suffered also. He has been through 2 nannies since but appeared to have settled down now. I often wonder what behavioural problems this set-up will present to the baby in later life. He didn't recognise his mother as his mother. My gf was the mother.

That large salary indicates to me the pressures she is under. I wonder what her family thought when she said was quitting to settle down with a foreigner she found on fb. I believe she received 4 months salary when she quit, most of which went to her family. They must have felt unsecure without her income. I have picked up some of that slack and I am happy to do that. As long as they do not take the p..s or try to rip me off. But I understand the attraction she sees going back with an enhanced salary...meeting up with "her" son. And having another baby. Guess its a case of me or them.

I mentioned her latest upset the other day. I posted a story on fb which had to involve her personal details. Wishing to keep her anonymous I merely referred to this person as a "friend". About an hour later I found her in the bedroom very sad and a bit tearful. It took me a while to find out what was wrong during which time she vowed she was leaving me and going back to Kuwait. She said because I referred to her as a "friend" only, this proved I had no feelings toward her and I had no long term intentions. This shows her sensitivity towards my past. She eventually understood why I used the term friend and now its all sweetness and light. Again. another misunderstanding.

Talking about sensitivity. I had to rescue her from a worm she found in a plant pot. Mind you...it was big. last night I had to rescue her from a lizard on the wall behind her. It was going to jump on her head apparently. I don't mind these sensitivities. Its the others that causes grief.

Stokkevn

For some reason my wife has the same fear of worms/snakes and eels. When we first met in Aberdeen we were walking down the pavement to the shops when she spotted a small worm on the pavement, she screamed and leapt into the road and a neighbour who was out raking his front lawn asked if she needed help, thinking that I had just hit her. Situation has not improved since we moved here, having found quite a few snakes in the garden and an 8 foot King Cobra trying to get into the bedroom twice in one night, the screaming woke up all our neighbours who thought I was murdering her.

Gazza-d

For someone brought up in the tropics you would thing they would be used to creepy crawlies but my wife freaks out whenever she sees a slug on the path and out comes the salt. She will also insist on calling caterpillars worms.

InVinoVeritas

It's all gone very quiet. Hope you're not suffering from water melon overdose, Pete?

quiltman

Maybe the GF took his internet off him, or the family used up his allowance?
Hope things are OK Pete.

Philosophical 11

Greetings all,

Yes, it has been rather remiss of me to neglect any news and updates, but in all fairness, there has been nothing much to report.

It has been all sweetness and love here which I welcome....but I wonder if this is down to festive cheer.

As mentioned on page whatever it is, I said I was going to present Sipalay with their first Santa on Xmas Day. Me and gf bought a Santa outfit and we are now in the process of buying about 100 small cheap toys to give away to the kids. The kids here have never seen Santa here since the year dot. I have been told how excited the kids will be when we go out on Xmas Day with gf and her family. It may not be the best Xmas I have ever had....but it would be the most fulfilling.

We have been buying Xmas gifts for her family. Nothing too expensive such as Rhum or cigarettes or clothes etc. I had in mind a budget of 10k for my gf so she can buy a gold something or other. That went out of the window when she pointed excitedly at something which cost 17k. Well....its Xmas after all. It had been reduced by 40% according to the sign which she believed. Yeah right!

When something involving money is brought up.... my conspiracy theories inside my brain instantly wake up and put on full alert. She mentioned a few days ago that she/her previous employers let her SSS contributions toward her pension lapse for the past few years. It was about 300 peso pm back then....and a bit more now. Her friend told her she will not get a state pension unless these missed payments were made up. I quickly worked out that would be about 20 - 25k in arrears that require paying. I researched to find out that back payments are not accepted but she could be now listed as self employed and we pay max contributions of about 1.8k pm for 10 years and she would be eligible for the pittance they call pension out here. No idea if she wanted me to stump up the missed payments....she never really asked. Except to say, I could take it out of her monthly allowance! Anyway, I am also looking into a private pension plan for her. She seems happy enough. Maybe looking forward to Xmas Day when she can show off her Xmas present.

She gets ideas into her head put there by her friends and will not believe otherwise if I disagree. On the early pages of this saga I mentioned she would not believe I can get a visa at Manila airport. She thought I was not serious about coming here. No amount of persuading could convince her that I could get a visa here on arrival. On her arrival in Manila, the first thing she did was to go to Immigration to find out from them. Then there was the saga of my swollen feet on page what ever it is. I always get swollen feet in a hot country and her friends said I had heart problems or diabetes or a host of other ailments that meant I would drop down dead in front of her. Eventually and exasperated we went to the doctor who indeed confirmed there was nothing wrong. That episode with all the diagnostic tests cost me nearly 10k. Last week a friend told her I have to leave this country after 12 months. Despite my protestations she did not believe me. After all she was a friend who knows better. I believe she thought I would go after 12 months and perhaps never come back. Anyway, we went to BI a few days ago to renew my visa and she asked the question. She was told what I had already told her...36 months. I asked the official to repeat that 3 times for her. I felt a warm glow inside.

Anyway... all for now. Thanks for your concerns.

Looking like a water-melon now. I never want to see another one again. A bucket full most days...water-melon juice and e-cig flavour water-melon is now wearing slightly thin.

quiltman

Thanks for the update your mates on here do worry about you!
Pleased life seems a lot more settled and you're "they are after my money" antenna are fully functional!

InVinoVeritas

+1

Gazza-d

SSS is worth paying as is very little to pay in and she'll get it for the rest of her life. I'd be very wary of any financial institution in the Philippines, my wife signed up for a plan whilst out shopping without me in tow and five years later looks as though she's out by over 100k.

Stokkevn

Don't forget to stipulate the arrival time, one year all I said was lunch started at midday so any time before that. The first turned up at 06:00hrs, just as the pig was going on the coals. Sure your gf is not related to my missus, despite having had a girls weekend away on Boracay booked for next month she spotted a must have 18.5k ring reduced by similar amount. Years ago in the UK I saw a very tongue in cheek advert for a set of encyclopedias culminating in that they were no longer required as he had married a Filipina and she knows everything. Never tell you are ill, they are all boarder-line hypochondriacs. I stupidly told my wife that I had a pain in my side ( I think from sleeping awkwardly on a new mattress ), by lunch time she was convinced I had everything from heart failure to Dutch Elm disease and should go to hospital. Saviour these moments, they will be few and far between and always worth banking for withdrawing at a later stage.

InVinoVeritas

I think your contributions to BE might do very well in the Christmas Polls

Philosophical 11

Festive Greetings and Salutations to all!

Again thanks for your interest and responses.
Borderline hypochondriacs? Dead right there. I have a slight cold and gf wants to spend money on medicine. Colds are incurable I tell her, but what do I know? She spent 560 peso on medicine for her mother who had excess mucus ...she could get a crate of beer for that. If I get a twinge, then I am badgered for the rest of the day on how I am feeling.

All is good here. Gf has been as good as gold (pun intended). She likes to have a dabble in various enterprises which have included selling prawns, acting as agent for various resorts here, rice trading and has thought about breeding pigs. None has come to any fruition and I have not heard yet how the 10k I gave her to give to her pastor uncle to buy and sell rice has fared. Apparently, there is a 2nd harvest in December.
Her latest venture is acting as an agent for on-line gold jewellery. Her fb page is full of gold items and she has been busy fielding questions from potential customers. Good luck to her.

Talking about gold, I was miffed the other day when she took the gold necklace I bought her for Xmas down to the pawnshop for valuation. I had asked her to put it away for Xmas. She was surprised and disappointed that they valued it at about half the price I paid for it. She could not understand that I bought it at 40% off and it was from a Mall. She contends you never get ripped off in a Mall. Oh...the innocence of youth. Told her that the value they gave was scrap value and the intricate design made it worth the price I paid. That went a little way to assuage her disappointment. But....I have never had a person who wanted to value a gift that was given to them from me before.

As I said, all is good here. She has been getting ready for Xmas and is excited about our first Xmas together. I hope it is the first of many.

Anyone heard of the double taxation agreement between countries and the Philippines?
Apparently, I can get my UK pensions paid here in the Philippines tax-free. The Philippines Govt would then deduct tax. But the clever part is that tax is deducted at 0% for pensioners here. But I suspect this would be only applicable to 13a and SRRV visa holders.

Finally, I found out that she was earning 150kd pm in Kuwait which I believe is about 18k peso pm. As I mentioned before she has been offered a good pay rise to go back. We shall see if the lure of big money is big enough to tempt her back after Xmas. I hope not.

All for

InVinoVeritas

I would think you can get your UK tax back but not as a refund by the Philippines of the UK tax you have paid (although there is double taxation agreement between the two countries). IMHO, for you it's simply a question that you are no longer UK tax resident; once you tell HMRC that you are non-UK resident they will simply pay your pension to you gross (I assume we are talking about a state pension here and not a government pension such as police or civil service).

The good thing about the Philippines is that you will continue to get the annual index-linking, which is not the case for other Asian countries.

There is a full explanation of all this on the Internet, i suggest you start with www.gov.uk

quiltman

the Double Taxation Treaty re UK/Philippines is clear. You need to fill in form DT-Individual and send to HMRC Cardiff. This form needs certifying by BIR here to say you are liable for tax here. HMRC will then instruct any PRIVATE pension suppliers to pay you gross. The DTT for here specifically EXCLUDES State Pension and Government pensions - Teachers, Police,Military, Local Authorities etc. If you only have your State Pension, then so long as it is below the allowance threshold - £10,600 - then it's paid gross anyway. Yes, we get the annual increases thank goodness. If you want more details then PM me. I don't know about 13A but SRRV holders get a tax exemption on income remitted to the Philippines.

InVinoVeritas

Not sure that is entirely correct but have a read of this first, Pete

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