Expats at risk from losing their state pension
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Hundreds of thousands of expat pensioners are at risk of having their state pension cut off if they fail to prove they are alive by completing a form.
Anti-fraud measures which were introduced in 2013 by the UK government are designed to stop state pension payments to people who have died.
Every couple of years, the government sends the forms to expats living in countries who do not share the relevant information with them, such as France. For expats living in high risk locations, the frequency of form completion is likely to be increased.
As reported in the Telegraph, one elderly pensioner in the Philippines failed to complete the forms in 2015 and subsequently stopped receiving her pension payment of £896 in September.
If and when you receive the forms from the HMRC, it is essential that you act as – while you can still contact the government, they believe emails or letters are insufficient proof that an expat may still be alive.