UK State Pension Abroad: How to Claim, Yearly Increases and Tax for Expats

You can claim your UK State Pension wherever you live, but what you get, how it is paid and whether it rises each year depend on where you retire. This guide explains how to claim the UK State Pension abroad, which countries get yearly increases, how payments and tax work, and how voluntary National Insurance can fill gaps in your record.

This guide is general information, not personal advice. Check your own record and position before making decisions.

Can you claim the UK State Pension if you live abroad?

Yes. You can claim if you have paid enough UK National Insurance contributions, and you might also qualify if you have lived or worked in other countries. Moving abroad does not cancel what you have already built up.

For the new State Pension, you need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get anything. The full new State Pension needs 35 qualifying years if your National Insurance record started after April 2016. If your record started earlier, the number can differ, so check your forecast. For 2026 to 2027 the full rate is £241.30 a week, up 4.8% from £230.25. Your own amount depends on your record, and you can check it with a State Pension forecast on GOV.UK.

When can you claim?

You can claim within four months of your State Pension age. State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and later to 68, depending on your date of birth. Check yours on GOV.UK rather than assuming it is 66.

Your pension is not paid automatically. You must claim, so start thinking about it a few months before your State Pension age.

How to claim from abroad

1. Contact the International Pension Centre, or send the international claim form to the address printed on it.
2. Give your National Insurance number and bank details.
3. If you have lived or worked in other countries, you may be able to claim that country’s state pension too. Contact the pension authority where you live, and they may pass your details to schemes in other countries.

If you have spent part of a year in different countries, you must choose one country for payment. Payments cannot be split between countries.

How the pension is paid

• Where: into a bank in your country of residence, or a UK bank or building society. The account can be yours, joint, or someone else’s with their permission.
• Overseas accounts: you will need an IBAN and BIC, or a bank or branch code with an account number.
• Currency: payments are converted into local currency at the exchange rate on the conversion date, and a 0.39% conversion charge is applied before payment.
• How often: every 4 or 13 weeks. If your State Pension is under £5 a week, it is paid once a year in December.

A UK bank account avoids the conversion charge from the pension payer, though you would then pay your own currency costs when moving money abroad. Compare the two before choosing.

Will your State Pension go up each year?

This is the point that catches many expats out. Your State Pension is increased every year if you live in:

• the European Economic Area
• Gibraltar
• Switzerland
• a country with a social security agreement with the UK that provides for increases, with the exception of Canada and New Zealand where increases are not paid

If you live anywhere else, your pension is not increased each year. It stays at the rate when you first claimed or moved. This is often called a “frozen” pension. If you move back to the UK, it goes up to the current rate.

Many expats choose where to retire without checking this, and the difference compounds over a long retirement. Check the current list of countries on GOV.UK before you commit to a move.

Is the State Pension taxed abroad?

Non-residents usually do not pay UK tax on the State Pension. Your country of residence, however, may tax it, depending on its own rules and any double taxation agreement with the UK. Ask a local tax adviser how the State Pension is treated where you live.

Other UK pensions are different. Private and workplace pensions are usually taxable in the UK even when you are non-resident, with relief possible under a double taxation agreement. Our guide on paying into a UK pension while abroad covers the contribution side, and we look at taking money out in a separate guide.

Filling gaps with voluntary National Insurance

If your record is short, you may be able to pay voluntary contributions to add qualifying years. The rules for people abroad have tightened from 6 April 2026:

• New applicants for voluntary Class 3 contributions abroad need at least 10 continuous years of UK residence, or at least 10 qualifying years on their National Insurance record. Before that date it was three.
• Voluntary contributions paid for periods abroad do not count towards the 10 years, except in limited cases such as a relevant social security agreement.
• People already paying Class 3 can carry on without reapplying.
• For 2026 to 2027, Class 3 is £18.40 a week and Class 2 is £3.65 a week.

Before paying, ask the Future Pension Centre or International Pension Centre whether the extra year would actually increase your pension. Some years add nothing if you are already on the full amount, and paying can be a waste.

State Pension and your wider plan

The State Pension is only one part of retirement income. For most expats it is the smaller part. Your private pensions, your savings and the currency you spend in all matter. If you hold a UK pension you are thinking of moving, see how a SIPP for expats works and read about transferring a UK pension abroad before taking any step. A UK pension review can show everything you hold in one place, and our expat pensions hub covers the full picture. If you are weighing an overseas scheme instead, our QROPS page explains how those work.

A checklist

1. Get a State Pension forecast and check your qualifying years.
2. Check your State Pension age.
3. Check whether your chosen country gets yearly increases.
4. Decide whether voluntary contributions would add value, and check the deadline.
5. Plan to claim within four months of your State Pension age.
6. Decide which bank account will receive the payments.
7. Ask a local adviser how your country taxes the State Pension.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim the UK State Pension if I live abroad?

Yes, if you have enough qualifying National Insurance years. You need at least 10 qualifying years for the new State Pension.

How do I claim my State Pension from abroad?

Contact the International Pension Centre or send the international claim form, within four months of your State Pension age.

Does my State Pension increase if I live abroad?

Only if you live in the EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland or a country with a qualifying social security agreement, other than Canada and New Zealand. Elsewhere it is frozen.

Is the UK State Pension taxed if I live abroad?

Non-residents usually do not pay UK tax on it, but your country of residence may tax it.

Can I pay voluntary National Insurance from abroad?

Yes, but from 6 April 2026 new applicants for Class 3 abroad generally need 10 years of UK residence or qualifying years first.

This article is for information only and is not financial or tax advice. State Pension rules and rates change. Check GOV.UK and take advice that considers your own circumstances.