Retiring Abroad With Your State Pension

If you choose to retire abroad, you will be entitled to receive your State Pension in your new country of residence. However, where you move to will affect how much State Pension you receive. If you move to a country which has a social security understanding with the UK, you will be entitled to receive your State Pension and any relevant increases to your State Pension each year. For more information on the State Pension see The Basic State Pension. The UK has a social security understanding with the following countries:

• Austria
• Barbados
• Belgium
• Bermuda
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Jersey and Guernsey
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• (former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia
• Malta
• Mauritius
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Turkey
• United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
• United States of America

If you retire to any of these countries, you will be entitled to continue receiving your State Pension, and you will be eligible for the same annual increases that any UK pensioner still resident in the UK would receive.

If you retire to a country with which the UK does not have a social security agreement, such as China or Australia, you will be entitled to continue receiving your State Pension whilst you are there but you will not be eligible for the annual increases you would have received had you stayed in the UK. You will continue to receive the amount of State Pension you were entitled to receive when you initially retired abroad for the duration of your time abroad. If you choose to move back to the UK or to another country with which the UK has a social security agreement you may be entitled to begin receiving State Pension increases again.

If you are planning to retire abroad or would like more information on your specific situation, contact the Pension Service on 0845 606 0265 for advice. For details of the State Pension see The Basic State Pension.