State Pension if you retire abroad

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Claim State Pension abroad

You can claim State Pension abroad if you’ve paid enough UK National Insurance contributions to qualify.

Get a State Pension forecast if you need to find out how much State Pension you may get.

Make a claim

You must be within 4 months of your State Pension age to claim.

To claim your pension, you can either:

If you live part of the year abroad

You must choose which country you want your pension to be paid in. You cannot be paid in one country for part of the year and another for the rest of the year.

Bank accounts your pension can be paid into

Your State Pension can be paid into:

  • a bank in the country you’re living in
  • a bank or building society in the UK

You can use:

  • an account in your name
  • a joint account
  • someone else’s account - if you have their permission and keep to the terms and conditions of the account

You’ll need the international bank account number (IBAN) and bank identification code (BIC) numbers if you have an overseas account.

You’ll be paid in local currency - the amount you get may change due to exchange rates.

When you’ll get paid

You can choose to be paid every 4 or 13 weeks.

If your State Pension is under £5 per week, you’ll be paid once a year in December.

Delays to payments around US federal holidays

If you live abroad and your payment is due in the same week as a US federal holiday, it could arrive one day late. This is because a US company processes these payments.