I have to agree. Your input on your experience with your pension funds and how Chinese banks are dealing with it reflect an important aspect of life for foreign teachers in China as it may also happen to other people. So it's good know and a legitimate post about it on this board.

Yes, you're quite right to agree. But there's a lot more to this than obstructive Chinese bank staff!

When in China, you can also be obstructed by illogical and unnecessary rules and regulations imposed by western OCCUPATIONAL pension providers, both public and private. Now, I'm not talking about the UK STATE pension administrators. That said, given my negative experiences with western OCCUPATIONAL pension providers while in China, I would expect to be obstructed by UK STATE pension administrators too while residing here.

The western obstruction that has annoyed me most is all this crap about verifying my address.

No need to place any importance on where I am residing because:

1 - My Chinese bank account has no information about my address. (That applies to Chinese people too.)

2 - In the UK, I can use a recent utility bill to verify my address, but in China utility bills are issued to my apartment; they don't bear my name.

3 - The only way I can get a telegraphic transfer of western currency entered into my Chnese bank account is initially to provide my passport with its valid visa at the bank in person; the bank will then check my visa for its validity and compare my name in my passport and my bank account number with those details provided by the instigator of the telegraphic transfer, namely the western pension provider. Only when there is an exact match, will the telegraphic transfer be enacted. There is no chance of fraud occurring.

BTW, western offshore fund administrators can be equally obstructive.

What Willie had said about bank cheques and aeroplanes is the biggest load of crap I've come across in a long time! Geez, my better half uses her smartphone to pay restaurant bills! Also, people here tend not to have smart cards!

By contrast, I'm a proud dinosaur; I still use hard cash and my cellphone ain't a smartphone/iphone! I have never had a smart/credit/debit card in my life. However, I used to have a cheque book linked to my deposit account, but that was back in the day in the UK!