Expats have nine months to 'clock in' or lose their state pension

If anti-fraud forms are not completed and returned within several months the Government will cut off ex-pats' pensions.

Since 2013 the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has been making expat pensioners fill in official forms to stop their friends and relatives fraudulently claiming their state pensions after they have died. If forms are not correctly filled out and returned within nine months, the DWP will assume pensioners are dead – and will stop their pension payments.

The forms are sent out on average every 2 years, however, officials send them out more frequently to expats living in countries defined as “high risk”. They have to be signed by the pensioner and witnessed by a neighbour. The requirement applies to the many countries, including France, that do not automatically share the relevant information with the UK. Author: LaFranglaise at 07:01 Filed Under: expats