Uk State Pension - Page 2

James2915 wrote on Sat May 8, 2021 11:12am:

Any views on whether it's better to have UK state pension paid to my uk bank account or direct to my Spanish bank account in euros, comments appreciated.

Peter132 wrote on Wed Jun 16, 2021 3:29pm:

Several of my friends had the experience that when a spouse dies and you report the death to the bank they immediately freeze any joint accounts, even if its the only account that you need to survive with your daily cash ATM activities. For this reason, my wife & I maintained our separate acc...

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...ounts for many years. However, when Halifax & CAM were amalgamed into Sabadell our separate accounts were merged into one account. Therefore, if this continues to be the current practice, we are vulnerable to finding the surviving spouse having to deal with the nightmare of blocked/frozen accounts. Any observations would be welcome. Peter

Drew13 wrote on Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:34am:

A bit late to the party, but here is my tuppence. 

Using banks you lose on average 0.5% (half a percent)

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so £1000 costs you £5

using Revolut or Caxton are alternatives and they give you a debit card that works just like a “real” bank card.

I use both as Caxton gives me free cash withdrawals whereas Revolut is easier to transfer money between accounts.

Yes, it’s a bit of a faff, but depending on the amount you exchange it might be worth it. £2000 per month will save you £120 per year cash. 

I also use a uk bank foreign currency account for monthly bills. But use Revolut to move GBP to EUR even within the same bank as exchange rates are much better. 

I found using revolut or similar is free for small amounts on the free card.

For larger amounts I use OFX. On $10000 exchange to GBP I saved £400 over the interbank rate. 

I also used to buy a “forward”. This meant I could fix the rate for a year. You commit to a certain amount of exchange in a set period, pay a 10% returnable deposit and then draw off as you need. 

Ie. Commit to exchange £20,000 in the next 12 months. Pay £2000 deposit and “early draw down” monthly. 

It’s just an idea if you like to “play” with your money. Obviously if exchange rate changes you still remain fixed. 

paulsav wrote on Thu Jun 17, 2021 11:03am:

Sorry but your maths is incorrect ,0.5% of 1000 is 5 not 50. I have read of many blocked joint accounts on death and also when informing bank of a death, a sum of money is withdrawn (upto half its balance) to set up new account for direct debits to be set up on as the financial side of dealing wi...

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...th spousal estates can be very drawn out. Then after withdrawal the bank is informed. 

I too if resident would maintain Uk bank for pensions and only send when rate is good. 

Regards 

Pauline 

Peter132 wrote on Wed Jun 16, 2021 3:29pm:

Several of my friends had the experience that when a spouse dies and you report the death to the bank they immediately freeze any joint accounts, even if its the only account that you need to survive with your daily cash ATM activities. For this reason, my wife & I maintained our separate acc...

Read more...

...ounts for many years. However, when Halifax & CAM were amalgamed into Sabadell our separate accounts were merged into one account. Therefore, if this continues to be the current practice, we are vulnerable to finding the surviving spouse having to deal with the nightmare of blocked/frozen accounts. Any observations would be welcome. Peter

John 52 wrote on Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:06pm:

Hi Peter if you are referring to the Halifax building society ,I thought they amalgamated with Bank of Scotland  to become HBOS ,if this is same company unaware they are part of Sabadell  .of course it's up to the individual, before we bought in Spain  in 2019 ,my wife did her bank...

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...ing  with Bank of Scotland  ,when she received her state  pension last year I encouraged her to set up a Santander account to use in Spain  ,I recieve my state pension into Santander UK ,I can withdraw from Santander  in Spain ,without charge, my.wife receives her pensions into Bank of Scotland  and then transfers into Santander  when we are in Spain  ,was not aware of accounts being frozen in the result of a partners death ,but surely at a time like that a frozen account is something  a person could do without  

Peter132 wrote on Fri Jun 18, 2021 1:48pm:

Hello John 52, You are correct.   In 2006 I had a Halifax Hispaña account that was independent of my wife but somewhere in the mist of time due to the rapid demise of my Halifax and CAM accounts I lost my independent identity and someone in the banking system had transferred my balance...

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... into our new 'rescue' Sabadell joint account. As my wife and I have alternative independent historic accounts which are still active in the UK, it would not present serious financial problems to the surviving spouse if one of us should die. I did have friends who got into some difficulties when their spouse died and their joint accounts were frozen without any advance warning. They only became aware of the situation when the ATM refused to recognise them as customers. Thanks for your interest in the correction to my historical narrative. Peter132

John 52 wrote on Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:06pm:

Hi Peter if you are referring to the Halifax building society ,I thought they amalgamated with Bank of Scotland  to become HBOS ,if this is same company unaware they are part of Sabadell  .of course it's up to the individual, before we bought in Spain  in 2019 ,my wife did her bank...

Read more...

...ing  with Bank of Scotland  ,when she received her state  pension last year I encouraged her to set up a Santander account to use in Spain  ,I recieve my state pension into Santander UK ,I can withdraw from Santander  in Spain ,without charge, my.wife receives her pensions into Bank of Scotland  and then transfers into Santander  when we are in Spain  ,was not aware of accounts being frozen in the result of a partners death ,but surely at a time like that a frozen account is something  a person could do without