Pensions and retirement savings when you move abroad

The UK State Pension when you live abroad

How much

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week for 2026/27. If you have no National Insurance record before 6 April 2016, you need 35 qualifying years for the full amount; everyone needs at least 10 for any. DWP, your State Pension explained, April 2026, DWP, benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027

Years abroad

Time paying into an EEA country's system, or a country with a social security agreement, can count towards the 10-year minimum, but the UK pays only for your UK years. GOV.UK, new State Pension if you've lived abroad

Claiming from abroad

Contact the International Pension Centre, or send the international claim form. You must be within 4 months of your State Pension age to claim. GOV.UK, State Pension if you retire abroad

Being paid

Into a bank in the country you live in, in local currency after a 0.39% conversion charge, or into a UK bank or building society. Every 4 or 13 weeks. GOV.UK, State Pension if you retire abroad

Yearly increases

Only if you live in the EEA, Switzerland, Gibraltar or a country with a social security agreement that includes them; not in Canada or New Zealand. Elsewhere you won't get the yearly increases; it goes up to the current rate if you move back to the UK. GOV.UK, how your pension is affected abroad, DWP, countries where we pay an annual increase

Your forecast

Check how much you could get, when, and whether paying to fill gaps would increase it. GOV.UK, check your State Pension forecast

Where it goes up each year

Canada and New Zealand have agreements but are named as excluded. Any country not on the list, such as Australia or South Africa, doesn't get the increases. DWP, countries where we pay an annual increase

Filling gaps with voluntary National Insurance

What changed in April 2026

From 6 April 2026 most people can no longer pay voluntary Class 2 (£3.65 a week) for time abroad. HMRC's policy paper keeps it for some self-employed people covered by a social security agreement and for volunteer development workers; the GOV.UK guide doesn't mention the exceptions. HMRC, voluntary National Insurance abroad from 6 April 2026, GOV.UK, voluntary National Insurance if you live abroad, HMRC, National Insurance rates, April 2026

Class 3

£18.40 a week for 2026/27. To pay it from abroad you now need 10 years' UK residence or 10 years' contributions, up from 3. The GOV.UK guide words this as 10 years in a row living in the UK, or 10 years of qualifying contributions in total. Voluntary contributions paid while abroad generally don't count towards the 10 years. HMRC, National Insurance rates, April 2026, HMRC, voluntary National Insurance abroad from 6 April 2026, GOV.UK, voluntary National Insurance if you live abroad

If you already pay voluntary National Insurance

People already paying Class 3 can carry on. People already paying voluntary Class 2 can switch to Class 3 without the 10-year test if they apply before 6 April 2027, using the form HMRC sends them. HMRC, voluntary National Insurance abroad from 6 April 2026, HMRC, voluntary Class 3 for periods abroad, July 2026

Paying for past years

Normally for the past 6 years. The deadline is 5 April each year. GOV.UK, voluntary National Insurance deadlines

How to apply

Online or with form CF83. HMRC can't process it if you're over State Pension age or within 6 months of it. HMRC, apply to pay voluntary National Insurance from abroad (CF83), April 2026

UK workplace and personal pensions

When you can take money out

From 55 now, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028, unless you have a protected pension age. Finance Act 2022, s.10, HMRC, increasing normal minimum pension age, November 2021

The tax-free part

Usually up to 25% of each pension, up to £268,275 in all. The country you live in may tax it its own way; we couldn't find an official source on this, so check locally. GOV.UK, lump sum allowance

Tax on income

You may be taxed by the country you live in and by the UK. A double taxation agreement can stop you paying twice: many make a UK workplace pension taxable only where you live, though not all do. Once HMRC accepts your claim, the pension can be paid with tax code NT. GOV.UK, tax on a pension when you live abroad, HMRC, DT1926, August 2026, HMRC, PAYE81750, August 2026

Paying in after you leave

Tax relief on up to £3,600 a year (gross), in a relief-at-source scheme, is possible if you were UK resident at some point in the previous 5 tax years and when you joined the scheme. Whether your provider lets you pay in is another matter: see the table below. Finance Act 2004, s.189, HMRC, PTM114000, August 2026

Inheritance tax

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits count towards your estate for inheritance tax. HMRC, Inheritance Tax on unused pensions, July 2025, Finance Act 2026, ss.66 to 71

Finding an old pension

The Pension Tracing Service gives you the contact details if you know the employer or provider (from abroad, +44 191 218 7777). It can't tell you whether you have a pension or what it's worth. GOV.UK, find pension contact details

Moving a UK pension to a scheme abroad

The charge

25% of the amount you transfer to an overseas scheme (a QROPS), unless an exemption applies. GOV.UK, transferring to an overseas pension scheme

The exemptions

You live in the country the scheme is based in, or you work for an employer that sponsors it, and the transfer is within your overseas transfer allowance. GOV.UK, transferring to an overseas pension scheme, HMRC, pension schemes newsletter 164

The 2024 change

Transfers to schemes in the EEA or Gibraltar made on or after 30 October 2024 no longer escape the charge just because of where the scheme is. HMRC, overseas transfers from 30 October 2024

If you move again

Moving country within 5 years of the transfer can change the tax due. GOV.UK, transferring to an overseas pension scheme

HMRC's list

HMRC publishes schemes that say they qualify, but says it "cannot guarantee" they do, and that it's your responsibility to check the tax. HMRC, ROPS notification list, October 2026

Signs of a pension scam

• A cold call about your pension: it's illegal, and likely to be a scam.
• A "free pensions review", or an offer of cash from your pension before 55.
• Unusual high-risk investments, often overseas, where it's hard to check who owns what.

Source: The Pensions Regulator, pension scams

UK pension providers: what happens when you move abroad

What each provider's own pages say, in alphabetical order. "Not stated" means we couldn't find it on its pages: ask before you move.

Sources: AJ Bell, moving abroad, AJ Bell, accessing a UK pension from overseas (archived), AJ Bell, SIPP charges, Fidelity, moving or retiring abroad, Fidelity, SIPP fees, Hargreaves Lansdown, moving abroad, Hargreaves Lansdown, SIPP charges, interactive investor, SIPP charges, PensionBee, living overseas, PensionBee, fees, Vanguard, moving abroad, Vanguard, Personal Pension

401(k)s and IRAs when you live abroad

2026 limits

401(k): $24,500, plus $8,000 from age 50, or $11,250 from 60 to 63. IRA: $7,500, or $8,600 from age 50. IRS, 2026 contribution limits, August 2026, IRS Publication 590-A

Paying into an IRA

You need taxable compensation. If you exclude your foreign earnings from US tax, the IRS's own pages disagree: Publication 590-A lists excluded foreign earned income as not counting, while its international IRA page says to add excluded amounts back. Check with a tax adviser before you contribute. IRS Publication 590-A, IRS, IRAs for international taxpayers, August 2026

Taking money out early

Before 59½ you usually pay an extra 10% tax, with exceptions such as disability, a series of equal payments, leaving a job in or after the year you turn 55 (workplace plans only), and up to $10,000 towards a first home (IRAs only). IRS, exceptions to the early withdrawal tax

Required withdrawals

From 73, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. You can delay the first one to 1 April of the next year. Roth IRA owners don't have to take them. IRS, RMD FAQs, January 2026, Federal Register, RMD regulations, July 2024, IRS, retirement topics: RMDs, April 2026

Roth conversions

Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth makes the untaxed amount taxable, and since 2018 it can't be undone. IRS, IRA FAQs

Withholding abroad

US citizens can't choose to have no tax withheld from pension or IRA payments sent outside the US. The usual rates are 10% on one-off payments and 20% on payments that could be rolled over. IRS, pension withholding for international taxpayers, July 2026, IRS Publication 575

Living in the UK

HMRC says an IRA payment to a UK resident is exempt from UK tax to the extent it would be exempt in the US, under the US-UK treaty. HMRC, DT19853, August 2026

US taxes when you live abroad: who files, the exclusion and the credit, and social security agreements

US Social Security abroad

US citizens

You can keep getting paid while you're outside the US, in most countries. SSA, your payments outside the US, April 2026

Where it can't be paid

The US Treasury bars payments to Cuba and North Korea. Payments to Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are restricted, with some exceptions. SSA, your payments outside the US, April 2026

If you're not a US citizen

Payments stop after 6 full calendar months outside the US unless an exception applies, and restart only after a full calendar month back in the US. Check the exact rules with the SSA. SSA, your payments outside the US, April 2026

Foreign pensions

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on 5 January 2025, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. From January 2024 a pension from work abroad no longer reduces your benefits. SSA, legislative bulletin, January 2025, SSA, pensions and work abroad, January 2026

Agreements

The US has social security agreements with 31 countries, including Romania from 1 September 2026. They stop you paying into two systems, and can combine your credits so you qualify. SSA, POMS GN 01701.005, September 2026

Medicare

Medicare "usually doesn't cover health care" outside the US, with a few exceptions. Plan for health cover where you live. Medicare.gov, travel outside the US

International health insurance for long stays, compared

US brokers for Americans abroad

What each one's own pages say about customers who live outside the US, in alphabetical order. We couldn't find Vanguard US's policy on its own site.

Sources: Schwab, US expat investing, Schwab, pricing guide, Fidelity, investors outside the US, Interactive Brokers, IRAs

Working in more than one EU country

Your years add up

Each EU country's pension authority has to count the periods you worked in other EU countries towards its minimum. Your Europe, state pensions abroad, September 2026

A pension from each

You get a separate pension from each EU country where you worked or paid in for at least a year. Apply where you live, or where you last worked. Your Europe, state pensions FAQ, Your Europe, state pensions abroad, September 2026

The UK and the EU

Under the UK-EU agreement, the UK State Pension continues to be "aggregated, exported and uprated". UK government, social security arrangements with the EU