State Pension entitlement if you retire abroad

You can claim State Pension abroad if you have paid enough UK National Insurance contributions to qualify.

To make a claim you must be within four months of your State Pension age.

You must choose which country you want your pension to be paid in. You cannot be paid in one country for part of the year and another for the rest of the year.

Your State Pension can be paid into:

• a bank in the country you’re living in
• a bank or building society in the UK

You can use:

• an account in your name
• a joint account
• someone else’s account – if you have their permission and keep to the terms and conditions of the account

You will need the international bank account number (IBAN) and bank identification code (BIC) numbers if you have an overseas account. You will be paid in local currency – the amount you get may change due to exchange rates.

How your future pension may be affected

If you live outside certain designated areas, you may lose out on the annual increases in the UK State Pension.

Your State Pension will only increase each year if you live in:

• the European Economic Area (EEA)
• Gibraltar
• Switzerland
• countries that have a social security agreement with the UK (but you cannot get increases in Canada or New Zealand)

However, if you have not qualified for annual increases whilst abroad, your pension will go up to the current rate if you return to live in the UK.