Search found 4393 matches

by RetireJapan
Thu May 09, 2024 12:12 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Pending- Law to revoke the permanent residency status of foreign nationals who fail to pay taxes
Replies: 28
Views: 1355

Re: Pending- Law to revoke the permanent residency status of foreign nationals who fail to pay taxes

Grim article in the Mainichi, claiming 10% of permanent residents fail to pay taxes. Turns out this is based on a small sample of PR applications from the immigration department, and includes pension and health insurance. So not actual permanent residents (one would assume such applications were tu...
by RetireJapan
Thu May 09, 2024 11:58 am
Forum: Pension
Topic: UK state pension voluntary contributions online
Replies: 5
Views: 164

Re: UK state pension voluntary contributions online

Do you know if those who are class 2 can pay online like this? Given that for class 2 the system defaults to class 3 (until it’s paid, then it appears as self employment the same way as class 2) Don't think so. I had to lie to get to the payment screen (if you live abroad there's a chance you might...
by RetireJapan
Thu May 09, 2024 2:26 am
Forum: Pension
Topic: UK state pension voluntary contributions online
Replies: 5
Views: 164

Re: UK state pension voluntary contributions online

Ooooh, update. Just tried again and it kind of worked.

Logged into my UK bank via the HMRC site, and it seems to have worked except I needed my card reader to confirm the transaction (which is at home).

Will try again tonight. Exciting.
by RetireJapan
Thu May 09, 2024 2:20 am
Forum: Pension
Topic: UK state pension voluntary contributions online
Replies: 5
Views: 164

Re: UK state pension voluntary contributions online

By "pay online" you mean by credit card? I haven't seen this option, but I was able to make voluntary contributions via UK bank transfer for a hodgepodge collection of years of varying amounts. This is also how I intend to pay going forward. Yes, going through the website without having t...
by RetireJapan
Tue May 07, 2024 4:30 am
Forum: Pension
Topic: UK state pension voluntary contributions online
Replies: 5
Views: 164

UK state pension voluntary contributions online

So close. I just logged in to see if I could pay online, and you have to lie to do so (say you were not abroad during the time periods in question (if you were abroad, you could be eligible for class 2 payments so need to call them, but I know I am not). However, the final payment page is coming up ...
by RetireJapan
Mon May 06, 2024 3:02 am
Forum: Banking
Topic: Barclays UK closing expat accounts ?
Replies: 60
Views: 15191

Re: Barclays UK closing expat accounts ?

This banking closure issue ( along with the uneven distribution of index linking of the UK state pension for those of use living overseas depending on the country where one lives* ) - is one of the key lobbying issues of the British Overseas Voters Forum www.bovf.org.uk . If the BOVF can reach crit...
by RetireJapan
Sat May 04, 2024 1:48 pm
Forum: New NISA (2024~)
Topic: Best broker for NISA?
Replies: 5
Views: 328

Re: Best broker for NISA?

I have all three but mainly use Rakuten, largely out of laziness 😂 The zero yen conversion from dollars to yen that Rakuten offers is very appealing too. I think Prestia still allows you to have USD remittances sent to your account free of charge so I’ll probably sell off a good chunk of my holding...
by RetireJapan
Fri May 03, 2024 11:22 pm
Forum: Real Estate
Topic: Step 1 - Mortgage Presecreening
Replies: 18
Views: 887

Re: Step 1 - Mortgage Presecreening

Shonai Bank has no penalties for early repayment, but...

https://youtu.be/EedWDRcqBVI?si=8gU1s3NZjQAPLz7J
by RetireJapan
Fri May 03, 2024 11:19 pm
Forum: RetireJapan for Dummies
Topic: Reason to rethink managed funds? Wife nestegg shock
Replies: 3
Views: 204

Re: Reason to rethink managed funds? Wife nestegg shock

Past performance does not guarantee future returns (in fact, it might make them less likely). Sounds like your wife was very lucky this time. In similar situations my parents in law were put into Turkish Lira bonds, with less desirable results. See how that fund is doing in 5, 10 years time compared...
by RetireJapan
Fri May 03, 2024 11:26 am
Forum: New NISA (2024~)
Topic: Best broker for NISA?
Replies: 5
Views: 328

Re: Best broker for NISA?

I have all three but mainly use Rakuten, largely out of laziness 😂