YumaMel

I am about to retire and have lived in the united states for 45 years. I did work for about 3 years in England. I am not sure if I'm eligible for any pension for this short time and don't have my national pension number. Does anyone know if I can find the number online or do I have to write them a letter? Thanks for your help. This is an interesting website...I had no idea

dreadsoc

Hi Yumamel

I hate to say this but you may not have paid enough National Insurance contributions to be eligible for a UK pension - but it is worth checking to be sure.
To find out google the UK Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) as they are the department responsible for pensions in the UK. The website should have either a phone number or an email address for you to use.

All the best

Dread - x

MattySD

If you are short on contributions for a few years you can usually buy some by sending off a cheque to the National Insurance Contributions Office to get a full pension when you retire, however there is a cut off period where you can no longer pay for years missed. I agree with dreadsoc - it's certainly worth checking to see your current status.

dreadsoc

Hi Matty

I have just noticed that you are a newish member so welcome to BE.
Good to see you are finding your feet on the USA forum

All the best
Dread - x

Jerseygirl

Hello and welcome to BE.

I think you will find this site very useful. I also suggest you open a new thread in our Moving Back To The UK Forum...quite a few of the people who post in that forum have been in a similar position as yourself and have had to find their NI number to enable them to claim benefits.

Read back through some of the old threads...especially the 50's and 60's threads...there's a wealth of info in there posted by people who have lived overseas for many years before returning home. Good luck.

MattySD

@dreadsoc

Thank you for the welcome - I'll try and be as much help as I can on the forum!

mikelincs

DWP has a specific number for people living outside the UK, look on its website.