Expat Pension Transfer: How to Transfer a UK Pension Abroad

Can You Transfer a UK Pension Abroad?

Yes, in many cases. You can move a UK pension to an overseas pension scheme that HMRC recognises, or to a UK-based expat SIPP. But whether you can transfer is only the first question. Whether you should is a different one, and for many people the right answer is to leave the pension where it is.

This guide explains how an expat pension transfer works, the rules that apply, what it costs, how long it takes, and the risks. It is part of our guide to UK pensions for expats. Last reviewed.

Your Options for a UK Pension

A pension transfer is only one of those options. It is not a default step when you move abroad, and a UK pension does not stop being yours because you leave the UK.

Do You Have to Transfer Your Pension When You Move Abroad?

No. You do not have to move a UK pension when you emigrate. It stays invested, you can generally take benefits from it from abroad, and you do not lose it. Many expats leave their pensions in the UK for the whole of their retirement.

Reasons people look at a transfer include wanting to control investments, to reduce charges, to hold the money in another currency, to consolidate several pensions, or to simplify things for their family. Each of those can often be dealt with in other ways, and each should be weighed against what a transfer would cost and what you might give up.

When Keeping Your Pension in the UK Makes Sense

• You have a final salary pension. A guaranteed, often inflation-linked income is hard to replace.
• The charges are reasonable. If your current plan is competitive, a transfer may only add cost.
• You may return to the UK. Moving a pension out can complicate matters if you come back.
• You are happy with the investments. There may be nothing to fix.
• Your plans are uncertain. Keeping your options open is valuable.

If you hold a final salary pension, read our guide to final salary pension transfers and the pension review process first.

When a Transfer May Be Worth Considering

• You plan to live outside the UK for the long term and want investments in the currency you will spend.
• Your pension is with a provider that restricts or poorly serves overseas customers.
• You hold several small pensions and want to bring them into one place.
• You want a wider range of investments than your current plan allows.
• You are concerned about how your family would receive the pension after your death.

None of these is a reason to transfer on its own. They are reasons to look, with the costs and the risks beside them.

The Overseas Transfer Charge

Since 2017, transfers to a qualifying overseas scheme can be subject to an overseas transfer charge of 25% of the amount transferred. The charge is applied unless an exclusion applies. The main exclusions are:

• the receiving scheme is in the same country where you live;
• the transfer is to an occupational pension scheme provided by your employer;
• the transfer is to a scheme set up by an international organisation for its employees; or
• the transfer is to an overseas public service scheme.

The old exclusion for transfers within the EEA and Gibraltar no longer applies to transfers requested on or after 30 October 2024, unless completed before 30 April 2025. The charge is reported to HMRC by the UK scheme, and it is deducted before the money leaves.

The rules can also apply after the transfer. If you change country of residence within five full tax years after the transfer, the exclusion may stop applying and the charge can become payable. Full detail is in our QROPS guide.

Pensions You Can Transfer

Defined contribution pensions

Workplace and personal pensions built from contributions and investment growth can normally be transferred. The question is the cost and the destination, not whether a transfer is possible.

Defined benefit (final salary) pensions

Many can be transferred, but you give up a guaranteed income. If the value of the safeguarded benefits is £30,000 or more, you must take regulated advice before you transfer. Some public sector schemes cannot be transferred out to an overseas scheme at all, so check first.

Pensions already in payment

An annuity or a final salary pension that you are already drawing generally cannot be transferred. Pensions in drawdown may be treated differently, so ask your provider.

The State Pension

The UK State Pension cannot be transferred. If you have paid enough National Insurance, you can claim it from abroad and have it paid into a UK or overseas bank account.

Can Your Pension Scheme Refuse a Transfer?

Yes, in some circumstances. You generally have a legal right to transfer a pension, but UK schemes are also expected to carry out checks to protect you from scams. For transfers to overseas schemes, the rules require evidence of a genuine link, such as that you live in the country of the receiving scheme or work there. If a scheme believes a transfer carries a risk of a scam, it can pause it or decline to proceed.

Be prepared for questions about why you are moving the money, how you found the receiving scheme and whether anyone contacted you first. Straight answers speed things up.

How an Expat Pension Transfer Works, Step by Step

1. Gather your pension details. Collect statements for each pension. If you have lost track of one, use the government’s Pension Tracing Service.
2. Check what you would give up. Ask each provider about guarantees, exit charges and any special terms.
3. Take advice. It is required for safeguarded benefits worth £30,000 or more, and sensible in most other cases. See our expat pension review.
4. Choose the destination. A UK-regulated expat SIPP or an overseas scheme. Check an overseas scheme against HMRC’s list of recognised overseas pension schemes, and remember the list is not an endorsement.
5. Check the costs. Set transfer charges, set-up fees, annual fees, investment charges and any tax charge side by side, in pounds.
6. Apply to transfer. You complete the receiving scheme’s application, and your UK provider is told to release the funds.
7. The UK scheme checks and processes the transfer. It may ask you questions, and for a final salary pension it will issue a transfer value.
8. Funds arrive and are invested. Check that the money reaches the right scheme and is invested as agreed.

How Long Does a Pension Transfer Take?

It varies widely. A simple UK-to-UK transfer between modern providers can take a few weeks. A transfer abroad usually takes longer because of the extra checks, the overseas paperwork and, for final salary pensions, the transfer value process and advice. Delays are common when a scheme asks further questions.

Do not set deadlines around a transfer date, and be wary of anyone who creates urgency.

What Does a Pension Transfer Cost?

The right comparison is the total cost over time against what you pay today, including the cost of staying put. Ask for every figure in writing before you agree to anything.

Tax on a Transferred Pension

Tax depends on the type of pension, where you live and where the money goes. Three things matter most:

• UK rules. A transfer to a UK pension has no overseas transfer charge. Transfers to overseas schemes can, as above. The UK may continue to apply tax rules to a QROPS for a period after the transfer.
• The tax rules where you live. Your country of residence decides how pension income is taxed, and some countries tax foreign pensions in ways that surprise people.
• Double tax treaties. A treaty between the UK and your country may decide which country taxes pension payments.

Because the answer can differ from one country to the next, speak to a tax adviser in the country where you live as well as a pension adviser. Tax rules change and depend on your circumstances.

Risks of Transferring a Pension Abroad

• Losing guarantees. A transfer from a final salary pension replaces a guaranteed income with investment risk.
• Costs that outweigh the benefit. Fees can erode any saving.
• A tax charge. The 25% overseas transfer charge is a large loss if it applies.
• Changes in your circumstances. Moving country again can change how the scheme is treated.
• Currency risk. Investments in another currency can rise or fall against sterling.
• Less protection. An overseas scheme may not have the same compensation rights as a UK one. Check what applies.
• Hard to reverse. Once the money has left, it is difficult or impossible to bring it back.
• Scams. Pension transfers are a favourite target for fraudsters.

Pension Transfer Scams: Warning Signs

Overseas pension transfers have been used in scams where people lost their savings. Be alert if you see any of these:

• an unsolicited call, email or message about your pension;
• a promise of guaranteed or unusually high returns;
• pressure to move quickly, or a limited-time offer;
• unusual or overseas investments you cannot explain or verify;
• a firm that is not on the FCA register, or an adviser who dodges questions about fees;
• an offer to release money early or to help you access cash before minimum pension age.

Check any firm on the FCA Financial Services Register and report suspected scams to the FCA on 0800 111 6768. The minimum age at which you can normally take pension benefits is 55, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028. Unlocking benefits earlier can mean heavy tax charges.

Transferring a Pension Back to the UK

Some people who moved a pension abroad later want to bring it home, for example after returning to the UK. It can be possible, but the receiving UK scheme must be willing to accept it, and the overseas scheme must permit the transfer. Tax can apply, and the pension may be treated under special rules because it has been outside the UK. Take advice before you start.

Transferring a Defined Contribution Pension vs a Final Salary Pension

With a DC pension, a transfer is mostly a question of cost, control and suitability. With a DB pension it is a question of whether giving up a guarantee can ever be justified. The analysis for a DB pension, including the critical yield, is covered in our pension review guide.

Expat SIPP or QROPS: Which Route?

If you decide to move a pension, the two main routes for expats are a UK-based expat SIPP and an overseas scheme. They differ in ways that matter for a transfer.

For many expats the cheaper and simpler step is a UK pension that is set up for overseas clients. A QROPS can make sense when the exclusion applies, for example because you live in the same country as the scheme, but it should not be chosen to avoid UK rules. Read both guides before you decide: Expat SIPP and QROPS for UK Expats.

Three Illustrative Transfer Examples

These are simplified, hypothetical examples. They are not real clients and not a recommendation.

Example 1: Consolidating old workplace pensions

Someone in the UAE has four small pots from past employers, each charging more than a modern plan and none supporting overseas clients well. The review concludes that moving all four into one lower-cost UK pension makes sense. No overseas transfer charge arises.

Example 2: A settled expat in Spain

A person has lived in Spain for many years and intends to stay for good. They have a defined contribution pension and want investments in euros. The review compares an expat SIPP with an overseas scheme. The costs, the tax rules in Spain and the risk of the overseas transfer charge all go into the comparison, and the outcome depends on how those come out.

Example 3: A final salary pension and a plan to return

Someone in Hong Kong is offered a high transfer value from a final salary scheme and is tempted. The review finds a guaranteed, inflation-linked income and a spouse’s pension that a transferred pot would struggle to match, and the person may return to the UK. The outcome is to leave the pension where it is.

Pension Tax Around the World: What to Check

Tax on UK pension income is decided by where you live, not by where the pension is. The pattern varies:

• Countries with no personal income tax. Several Gulf states have none, which can make UK pension income more valuable to you, although the UK may still apply rules to the pension.
• Countries that tax worldwide income. Many European countries tax foreign pension income, and some tax lump sums heavily.
• Countries that tax only local income. Hong Kong and some others tax only income arising locally, which can leave foreign pension income untaxed. Check the current rules before relying on this.
• Countries with special regimes for foreign pensions. Some offer reduced rates for retirees from abroad, often with conditions.
• Countries with unusual rules. The United States and some others treat foreign pensions in specific ways that can create reporting duties and tax traps.

These are broad patterns, not advice for any country. Speak to a local tax adviser as well as a pension adviser, and check whether a double tax treaty applies between the UK and your country.

Taking Money Out After a Transfer

A transfer does not change when you can start taking benefits. Minimum pension age is 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028. After that, the way you take money depends on the scheme and the rules where you live. Common choices are regular income, lump sums, an annuity or a mix. Before transferring, find out what the receiving scheme allows, what it charges for payments and what currencies it can pay in.

Also check how the scheme treats your family if you die, who it pays, and how any tax would apply. Rules on pensions and inheritance tax are changing from 6 April 2027. Life cover can also protect your family without moving a pension: see our expat life insurance guide.

What Happens If You Move Country After Transferring?

Plans change, and a transfer should be able to cope. The key points are:

• If you move a pension to an overseas scheme and then change country of residence within five full tax years, the 25% charge can become payable where it was previously excluded.
• The overseas scheme manager must tell HMRC about a change of residence within 90 days of learning of it.
• An expat SIPP stays in the UK, so there is generally no overseas transfer charge to worry about if you move.
• Your own tax position changes with your new country of residence, regardless of where the pension is held.

If you think you may move again, that is a strong reason to weigh a UK-based route carefully.

Checking the Receiving Scheme

Before you transfer anything, check the scheme you are moving to.

1. Is it on HMRC’s list of recognised overseas pension schemes, and is that list current? Remember the list is not an endorsement.
2. Who regulates it, and where?
3. Who runs it, and are they authorised to do so?
4. What does it charge, and how are those charges shown?
5. What investments does it allow, and who chooses them?
6. What protection would you have if the provider failed?
7. How do you take money out, and how quickly?

If you cannot get clear answers, do not proceed.

Questions to Ask Before You Transfer

• What do I give up by moving this pension?
• What is the total cost in pounds, now and every year?
• Does the 25% overseas transfer charge apply to me?
• What happens if I move country again?
• Who regulates the receiving scheme, and what protection do I have?
• Who is paid if I go ahead, and who is paid if I do not?
• What happens to the pension when I die?
• Can I get the same result by keeping the pension in the UK?

Speaking to Us

We speak to clients by phone or video from our offices in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, and we work with expats around the world. Before anything moves, we review what you hold and what you would give up. Book a call

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I transfer my UK pension abroad?
Often yes, to a recognised overseas scheme or a UK-based expat SIPP. Whether you should is a separate question.

2. Do I have to transfer my pension if I move abroad?
No. A UK pension can stay where it is and you can normally take benefits from abroad.

3. What is the overseas transfer charge?
A 25% tax charge on transfers to qualifying overseas schemes, unless an exclusion applies.

4. How can I avoid the 25% charge?
If one of the exclusions applies, such as the scheme being in the country where you live, the charge does not arise. Moving to a UK expat SIPP has no overseas transfer charge.

5. Can I transfer a final salary pension abroad?
Many can be transferred, but you give up a guaranteed income, and advice is required if the benefits are worth £30,000 or more.

6. Can I transfer my State Pension abroad?
No. It can be claimed from abroad and paid to a UK or overseas bank account.

7. How long does an expat pension transfer take?
Usually longer than a UK transfer, depending on the schemes and the checks.

8. Can my pension provider refuse to transfer?
In some cases, for example if it suspects a scam or the required link to the receiving country is missing.

9. Is a pension transfer tax free?
Not always. A UK-to-UK transfer has no tax charge. An overseas transfer can carry a 25% charge.

10. What if I move country after the transfer?
Within five full tax years, a change of residence can affect whether the charge applies.

11. Can I bring my pension back to the UK?
Sometimes, if both schemes agree. Take advice because tax and special rules can apply.

12. Do I need an adviser to transfer a pension?
It is required for safeguarded benefits of £30,000 or more, and sensible in most other cases.

13. How do I spot a pension transfer scam?
Unsolicited contact, promised returns, pressure to act fast and unverifiable investments are common warning signs.

14. Can I take my pension early if I transfer abroad?
No. The minimum pension age still applies, and early access can lead to heavy tax charges.

15. Is an overseas scheme on HMRC’s list safe?
Not necessarily. The list is not an endorsement or a check of the scheme’s quality.

Thinking About Transferring a Pension?

Speak to us before you move anything. We will look at what you hold, what a transfer would cost and what you would give up. Book a call

Risk warning: The value of investments can fall as well as rise. Tax rules can change and depend on your circumstances.