Waste of government resources (tax)

cdw057 wrote:

....

Main concern I have, within the EU, the country dealing with your pension is the last country you have worked, of course there will be a solution as I have a right to various pensions, but to go and prove (to the letter) that I am who I am?? Indeed I also have Hungarian pension entitlements, so sooner or later I have to deal with the bureaucracy.

If I were to move to outside the EU, I still would have to deal with Hungarian retirement authorities (rather then Dutch (which I am) or Luxembourg (where I worked for 10+ years)

As part of my fight with the health fund here in Hungary,  I looked at the pension documents I would need in the UK to obtain my state pension from there.  There's a convention on social security - looks like they transfer your social security entitlements to the country of residence.   This is one  of my paperwork battles with NEAK.

Anyway, in the UK pension system, to get a pension there are 27 pages of forms covering my entire existence from birth including all my modes of employment.  I won't get my government pension from the UK for 7 years. 

However, the details I have to provide are so heavy, I almost think I should start now gathering the information - it could take me at least 3 years to find references to all the information they want.  Who has their salary paperwork from 40 years ago?!  No-one!  My employers have gone bust, been taken over etc so I cannot ask them.

There used to government requirements in the UK to keep records 7 years.  Now it's looking like it changed to indefinite.

The ridiculous thing is that they know all this information anyway.  I know they know as I can see it online and in many sources.  So why ask again?

Perhaps I am over-prudent, but indeed I have my salary slips from 38/40 years ago, probably good for me to start and scan.
In any case (what I think is important i have my social security numbers (including UK) they must be able to trace my contributions somehow. (Could take some time though I have to admit).
Difficult for them not to service me. (Netherlands/UK/Luxembourg/Hungary)
The advice of the Netherlands is to contact pension (government) 1 year before first payment is due to be made (luck for me I am due to get EUR 80 pm at 60 (very old agreement), so I can establish the link well before my age of 67/68 in the Netherlands. Other countries will remain "interesting". Lets see how it goes with my "test" pension, I have to say EUR 80 pm will be a nice addition though.

As for my last post, I will probably be advised to contact Hungary pensions (which is fine), 60 is too young and any proceeds will likely be classified as income rather than pension (I do not care as long as they can prove to deal with the topic).
Taxes on mu additional "income" of EUR 80 pm I think i can bear (anyhow it is extra)

We both took,"early" retirement at age 62 instead of waiting till we were 65/66.
Lost 25% of what we could of gotten by taking it early.
As it is our total income is overall less then 25% of what we used to earn when working.
Obviously we missed the boat but really don't care that much.
We used to earn more in a week then we now receive in a month from the US.
It's all good, we know people who never collected a dime since they kicked the bucket before they retired. We are on the winning side.
At least in the US it was pretty easy to sign up for SS over the phone.
They have our HU address but sometimes we still get mail from the US SS dept. at an address in the US.
Our son contacted the US IRS over the phone, he was told everything is now really done by AI so it's up to AI to decide where they send things.
Talk about passing the buck and not taking responsiblity.Just blame AI for any mix ups.
Worst case we can always go back to work in the US if needed. I've never flipped burgers but perhaps that's my true calling?

Retirement, retirement, sounds nice, I am personally sad to get older, I am not very clever, but i have been lucky, what however is very important is if you worked in the right country (I expect to die in the not too distant future) though (genes). Some countries are friendly to pensioners (Hungary (currently) one of them,

I find it amazing that some countries (Netherlands and Uk as examples) completely dismiss the fact that you are married. Catholic countries (Luxembourg as an example) very often act differently (my wife will get (from Luxembourg) quite some pension if I were to die. (One thing against Hungary (being very catholic I think) is that there are no good provisions to support for widows (men die earlier then women, especially if they smoke, drink and have stress) .

Admittedly my wife did not work much over the last 20 years (but she did), I had a good salary, it just sounds dishonest that if I am alive pension is good, if not a bit less, then again having a Lux pension is already a blessing, just not honest from one country to another.

Good if women (or men) work, but also good to take care of home (and possibly children).

cdw057 wrote:

Retirement, retirement, sounds nice, I am personally sad to get older, I am not very clever, but i have been lucky, what however is very important is if you worked in the right country (I expect to die in the not too distant future) though (genes). Some countries are friendly to pensioners (Hungary (currently) one of them,

I find it amazing that some countries (Netherlands and Uk as examples) completely dismiss the fact that you are married. Catholic countries (Luxembourg as an example) very often act differently (my wife will get (from Luxembourg) quite some pension if I were to die. (One thing against Hungary (being very catholic I think) is that there are no good provisions to support for widows (men die earlier then women, especially if they smoke, drink and have stress) .

Admittedly my wife did not work much over the last 20 years (but she did), I had a good salary, it just sounds dishonest that if I am alive pension is good, if not a bit less, then again having a Lux pension is already a blessing, just not honest from one country to another.

Good if women (or men) work, but also good to take care of home (and possibly children).

The principle at work should be that there is equality and individual contributions.  Staying at home to look after kids is an equally valuable contribution akin to work by the other partner.  Should be rewarded and supported equally.

Not sure what you mean about NL and UK ignoring people are married (or in civil partnerships).  In the UK, spouses are able to inherit part of the state pension if one of the couple dies.  Same with private pensions.   My mother was in receipt of state and private pensions and when she passed, my father (now 97) inherited part of her pension. 

Hungary is diabolically bad for pensioners.  If you did not contribute for whatever reason, and you have no family, you will eventually die of hunger and cold.  Unless your neighbours help or some charity comes along, the amounts paid are tiny and are not survivable - only about 40K HUF a month.  In my own street there's a pensioner - blind and with no relatives.  Neighbours closest to that person help out.

fluffy2560 wrote:

cdw057 wrote:

Retirement, retirement, sounds nice, I am personally sad to get older, I am not very clever, but i have been lucky, what however is very important is if you worked in the right country (I expect to die in the not too distant future) though (genes). Some countries are friendly to pensioners (Hungary (currently) one of them,

I find it amazing that some countries (Netherlands and Uk as examples) completely dismiss the fact that you are married. Catholic countries (Luxembourg as an example) very often act differently (my wife will get (from Luxembourg) quite some pension if I were to die. (One thing against Hungary (being very catholic I think) is that there are no good provisions to support for widows (men die earlier then women, especially if they smoke, drink and have stress) .

Admittedly my wife did not work much over the last 20 years (but she did), I had a good salary, it just sounds dishonest that if I am alive pension is good, if not a bit less, then again having a Lux pension is already a blessing, just not honest from one country to another.

Good if women (or men) work, but also good to take care of home (and possibly children).

The principle at work should be that there is equality and individual contributions.  Staying at home to look after kids is an equally valuable contribution akin to work by the other partner.  Should be rewarded and supported equally.

Not sure what you mean about NL and UK ignoring people are married (or in civil partnerships).  In the UK, spouses are able to inherit part of the state pension if one of the couple dies.  Same with private pensions.   My mother was in receipt of state and private pensions and when she passed, my father (now 97) inherited part of her pension. 

Hungary is diabolically bad for pensioners.  If you did not contribute for whatever reason, and you have no family, you will eventually die of hunger and cold.  Unless your neighbours help or some charity comes along, the amounts paid are tiny and are not survivable - only about 40K HUF a month.  In my own street there's a pensioner - blind and with no relatives.  Neighbours closest to that person help out.

Thats really sad.
The uk pension and my works pension seem to go down in value at the moment mainly because of inflation. All countries have different arrangements and the number of years to contribute and the age at which you can retire has changed in the Uk.
However Im sure most are better off than pensioners in Hungary, Africa and India

anns wrote:

....
Thats really sad.
The uk pension and my works pension seem to go down in value at the moment mainly because of inflation. All countries have different arrangements and the number of years to contribute and the age at which you can retire has changed in the Uk.
However Im sure most are better off than pensioners in Hungary, Africa and India

For sure pensioners are better off in the UK.   Mainly I think because of the NHS and better organisation.  Here, healthcare is a highly hit and miss.  The possibility of dying here through neglect - even in hospital - must be considerably higher than the UK.

BTW, my MIL's pension increase was about 800 HUF a month.  Barely enough for some bread rolls.

Heard the SS in Hungary is going up $25. per year.
Also heard they gave out one extra month of SS last year , so it was a 13 month years for SS in Hungary.
In Jan. the US is increasing SS just under 5%.
My HU MIL had a good income when she retired but she worked all her life and got an extra pension because her husband was a POW for over 5 years.
They are always playing with SS.
In the US my siblings were minors when their father died. He had planned knowing he was dying on his 2 young children collecting SS until they were 21 and or in college.
He had death insurance but he factored in SS to help them out after he was gne.
Well the US gov. stopped paying at age 18, happened soon after my step-father died.
Sort of a heardship on our mother was was ill herself with cancer.
Well, no college for them, off to work we go...

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Heard the SS in Hungary is going up $25. per month.
In Jan. the US is increasing SS just under 5%.
My HU MIL had a good income when she retired but she worked all her life and got an extra pension because her husband was a POW for over 5 years.

When you say SS, do you mean pensions?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Heard the SS in Hungary is going up $25. per month.
In Jan. the US is increasing SS just under 5%.
My HU MIL had a good income when she retired but she worked all her life and got an extra pension because her husband was a POW for over 5 years.

When you say SS, do you mean pensions?

Yes pensions, actually it is more like $25., a year increase in HU not monthly as if even that little would help out much.
Here is a real waste of gov. resources...97,000 people in Hungary will /have had their covie-pass revoked.
They never showed up for their second dose  and cards were issued with the first jab.
Not sure where that leaves them now.Do they need to start from scratch or is it still alright to get their second jab? Thought there was a time limit between shots?

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Heard the SS in Hungary is going up $25. per month.
In Jan. the US is increasing SS just under 5%.
My HU MIL had a good income when she retired but she worked all her life and got an extra pension because her husband was a POW for over 5 years.

When you say SS, do you mean pensions?

Yes pensions, actually it is more like $25., a year increase in HU not monthly as if even that little would help out much.
Here is a real waste of gov. resources...97,000 people in Hungary will /have had their covie-pass revoked.
They never showed up for their second dose  and cards were issued with the first jab.
Not sure where that leaves them now.Do they need to start from scratch or is it still alright to get their second jab? Thought there was a time limit between shots?

Probably being spun as a political move to raise it by $25 because of the election in 2022. Hardly generous.  Might be simply inflation - which is going up here (expected to be higher than forecast at 5%).  As I mentioned before, MIL's getting 800 HUF a month rise which would be a bit more than $25 a year.

Maybe these missing 2nd dose people were coming in from Ukraine or Romania or somewhere and couldn't make the 2nd jab appointments.

Now the 3rd dose is being offered in August - at the moment I saw it was only possible a minimum of 4 months after the 2nd dose  and once again, only with TAJ card.  And it'll be a different manufacturer to the 1st one.  I rather like idea of the Moderna one.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

When you say SS, do you mean pensions?

Yes pensions, actually it is more like $25., a year increase in HU not monthly as if even that little would help out much.
Here is a real waste of gov. resources...97,000 people in Hungary will /have had their covie-pass revoked.
They never showed up for their second dose  and cards were issued with the first jab.
Not sure where that leaves them now.Do they need to start from scratch or is it still alright to get their second jab? Thought there was a time limit between shots?

Probably being spun as a political move to raise it by $25 because of the election in 2022. Hardly generous.  Might be simply inflation - which is going up here (expected to be higher than forecast at 5%).  As I mentioned before, MIL's getting 800 HUF a month rise which would be a bit more than $25 a year.

Maybe these missing 2nd dose people were coming in from Ukraine or Romania or somewhere and couldn't make the 2nd jab appointments.

Now the 3rd dose is being offered in August - at the moment I saw it was only possible a minimum of 4 months after the 2nd dose  and once again, only with TAJ card.  And it'll be a different manufacturer to the 1st one.  I rather like idea of the Moderna one.

Yes, we are holding out for Moderna if it ever is available here.
Is this the new normal, getting jabbed every 6 months to a year, not good at all.
Most of my older relations all got Moderna and they all seem OK, not much side effects...So far at least!

I'll concur that signing up for US Social Security while overseas is pretty simple: fill out a form online then wait a couple months for a call from someone at a nearby US embassy to confirm your identity. Your benefits will soon start flowing into your US or foreign bank account.

Only problem is the online portal where you can check your benefits etc. This requires a US address, so not very expat friendly unless you've got an alternate mailing address in the US..

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

...
Yes, we are holding out for Moderna if it ever is available here.
Is this the new normal, getting jabbed every 6 months to a year, not good at all.
Most of my older relations all got Moderna and they all seem OK, not much side effects...So far at least!

Being jabbed once in a while is normal. I always have the flu jab each year. I keep on top of all my vaccinations religiously. 

It's not a big deal to do it, doesn't cost much and really  a normal thing to keep up with the boosters and all that jazz. I think the jabs have saved me a couple of times whilst on my travels.

Better to be jabbed and protected than getting sick in some remote place with no health care.

zif wrote:

I'll concur that signing up for US Social Security while overseas is pretty simple: fill out a form online then wait a couple months for a call from someone at a nearby US embassy to confirm your identity. Your benefits will soon start flowing into your US or foreign bank account.

Only problem is the online portal where you can check your benefits etc. This requires a US address, so not very expat friendly unless you've got an alternate mailing address in the US..

It's odd with SS an dany info they send out.
They have our HU address and I alsoo have a US address with my sisters home.
I get mail frm SS in HU but my husband sometimes has his mail sent to the US address.
You can always call them and speak to a rep .
I was able to do that a few times cncerning my husband declining medicare part B.
If you decline and are not living in the US they will not take the money out of your SS to pay for part B.

OK, sort of spaced out as to which post this would fall under but here goes:

If you go on U tube and type in , "Tucker Carlson in Budapest" there is a 19 min. interview with Orban in English.

My HU husband said Tucker probably was given the red carpet treatment up in OV's new castle home.
I said he probably loaded him up on palinka but my husband said they probably brought out the "fancy women" too.
I think there will be more interviews daily but not sure.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

OK, sort of spaced out as to which post this would fall under but here goes:

If you go on U tube and type in , "Tucker Carlson in Budapest" there is a 19 min. interview with Orban in English.

My HU husband said Tucker probably was given the red carpet treatment up in OV's new castle home.
I said he probably loaded him up on palinka but my husband said they probably brought out the "fancy women" too.
I think there will be more interviews daily but not sure.

I think this Tucker Carlson thing is just some kind of hype.  There have been reports that payments were made to encourage Carlson and Fox News to come to Hungary.  It's election related.

Apparently they flew the Tucker Carlson guy down to the fence on the Serbia border.  They used - it seems - a HU military helicopter.   Makes me  wonder how they can use government resources for political propaganda/campaigning  purposes.  Seems unaccountable.  But then again it's Hungary.

Anyway this week OV got it in the neck from the US after Biden called him a thug or something like it. 

OV apparently thinks the US is going to interfere in the election Putin style.   I wouldn't have thought the US cared that much.  On the other hand Hungarian and Polish politics are destabilising the region and Putin will be happy to see his lap dogs distracting the West away from whatever is going on elsewhere with Crimea, Belarus and Eastern Ukraine.