ChristopherCB

Did you know that you're still entitled to your UK State Pension from no matter where you live in the world!

• The full basic State Pension is currently £175.20 per week (£9,110.40 p.a).
• You need to make 35 years of National Insurance contributions in order to be eligible for the full State Pension

As an Expat, you can make voluntary overseas contributions. As long as you worked full time in the UK for a minimum of 3 years, there are significant benefits you can take advantage of, and include the following:

• You can "buy back" up to 11 years of missed contributions.
• Your contributions needed could be as little as £3.05 per week (£158.60 per year).
• If you have worked the minimum of 3 years in the UK and still had 32 years of contributions remaining at £158.60 per year, you would be contributing a total of £5075.20 to receive a yearly pension of £9,110.40
• If you were to receive the state pension at the age of 68 and lived till you were 81 (average life expectancy in the UK) you would receive, throughout those 14 years, a total value of £127,545.60 from your £5075.20 worth of contributions!

scot47

Well done for sharing this. I did my bit when working in The Middle East to tell others about this, but "There are none so deaf as those who will not hear."

One of the downsides to getting your State Pension when overseas can be that the pension is frozen in certain countries. If you are in Canada, for example or in South Africa, the pension is "frozen" at the level paid on first claim

ChristopherCB

There are too many people who don't know about some of the benefits they have, now that they live abroad.
With pensions being one of, if not the biggest assets we have in order to ensure we are able to live comfortably in retirement.

That downside certainly does exist, however I'm sure you'll agree that the difference between having a state pension and not having one would outweigh this, especially considering how minimal the weekly contributions are.

There is a lot more needed to be done to ensure we can be financially comfortable in retirement and the State Pension is a very simple, yet effective way to get started.

ex reg

If you don't have a bank account in the UK how can you get your pension paid into a bank where you live overseas.

ChristopherCB

When you claim your State Pension (assuming you've made enough contributions to be able to receive it), you can choose which country you want your pension to be paid in.
You'll just need the IBAN and BIC numbers of the overseas account. The pension will then be paid to you in the local currency and exact payment will depend on exchange rates at that time.

ex reg

Thanks.
So although my pension is currently paid into my UK bank account I will shortly sell my UK property and close my UK bank account, and not have a UK address.
I just have to inform the State Pension people that I will be non resident and give my IBAN and BIC numbers of my overseas account and all will happen automatically.

ChristopherCB

Yes, correct. You’ll just need to contact the International Pension Centre and they should be able to guide you.

Whereabouts have you decided to move to?

Pica

Why do you need to close your uk bank a/c?

scot47

Some UK banks close your account if you leave the UK

ex reg

Since retirement we've been splitting our time between UK and Singapore.
We own property in both countries but have decided to sell up the UK property and move to Singapore full time.

ChristopherCB

Good luck with the move! Let us know how you go with transferring your pension over there and if there's any issues that arise throughout the process.