Originally Posted by martinbkk

Reading the last post above I take it then that once you've paid 35 years NI contributions, in my case 33 plus 2 free, then no further contributions are necessary, though would be paid if you were in UK and still working presumably since NI covers more than just pension.

At 66 2/3, my current projected retirement age I could then expect to receiver a ful basic state pension. ....

Originally Posted by Meow

Posting as a finance professional. (An actual one, not a barely qualified sales shark.)

I am not especially worried about the UK State Pension although the age from which people can claim will continue increasing, simply due to demographics and the costs. It's still A Good Thing and if you are likely to retire in the UK, or EEA, or anywhere with a reciprocal arrangement it is likely to be worth aiming for the full UK State Pension as it will be indexed in payment and thus retain its value in real terms. You will only require 35 years of contributions for the maximum so most expats can take a break of a few years and still qualify but a minimum of 10 years of contributions is required.

The UK State Pension alone is not sufficient provision for retirement so you need to have other assets (a mix of cash, property and investments) to provide for your later years. As you are not a UK resident you cannot take out a new UK pension plan but there are other options. Just avoid 20-25 year saving plans!

Transferring currencies between two retail bank accounts is rarely cost effective and you should get better exchange rates by using a regulated currency exchange house.

(My contact info is in my signature below if you have any queries.)