How to check your UK State Pension from abroad

Check your forecast and your record

Use GOV.UK's State Pension forecast. You sign in, and you can create sign-in details if you have none. You may be asked to prove who you are, usually with photo ID. GOV.UK does not name a sign-in option for people abroad, so try the service and see what it offers you.

Then check your National Insurance record. GOV.UK lists an online or post route for people who live abroad.

If you already get your State Pension, you cannot use the forecast service. GOV.UK points people in that position who live abroad to the International Pension Centre.

If the online service does not work

• Forecast: if you are more than 30 days from State Pension age, you can send the BR19 form by post, or call the Future Pension Centre, which posts the forecast to you.
• National Insurance record: you can ask HMRC for a printed statement, or write to HMRC.
• Future Pension Centre: GOV.UK lists an online forecast check, a UK phone line, a separate number for callers outside the UK, Relay UK, BSL video relay and a Freepost address.

Gaps and voluntary contributions

GOV.UK says gaps in your contributions or credits mean some years do not count towards your State Pension. The record service can show whether paying voluntary contributions would help fill gaps, and how your forecast would change. You cannot pay for a period once the deadline for it has passed, so check early.

The rules for time abroad changed. GOV.UK's page for people who live or work abroad says the earlier rules ended on 5 April 2026, and that different rules apply if you are paying for the 2026 to 2027 tax year onwards. In its words, you cannot pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions for time abroad from then, and Class 3 contributions for time abroad now need a longer UK history than before. People who applied under the earlier rules by 5 April 2026 may be able to continue under them. Read the GOV.UK page for people abroad for your own case, and see the overview of voluntary contributions.

Getting your State Pension abroad

GOV.UK says you can get your State Pension abroad if you have paid enough UK National Insurance contributions to qualify. Whether it rises each year depends on where you live. If you come back to live in the UK, it goes up to the current rate. Read State Pension if you retire abroad for the detail.

Other UK pensions

The State Pension is only one part. Old workplace and personal pensions are traced a different way. See how to find old pensions in the UK, and the rest of our United Kingdom page.

Worked in other countries too?

See pensions you left in other countries, and what to check before you leave a country. Our money map shows where to look for each kind of money, and the count of how many pensions you may have left behind shows how common it is.

PensionHunter traces pensions left behind across borders. It is run by Battersea Park Capital. Capital Find Money's founder has an interest in it, and we feature it because no national tool looks across countries. Its pension checker is a cross-border option, after the free government route above.

Common questions

How do I check my UK State Pension from abroad?

Use GOV.UK's State Pension forecast service and its National Insurance record service. Both need a sign-in. If the online route does not work, GOV.UK offers the BR19 form by post, or the Future Pension Centre, which has a separate number for callers outside the UK.

Can I pay voluntary National Insurance from abroad after April 2026?

GOV.UK says the earlier rules ended on 5 April 2026. From the 2026 to 2027 tax year you cannot pay voluntary Class 2 contributions for time abroad, and Class 3 contributions for time abroad need a longer UK history than before. Check the GOV.UK page for people who live or work abroad for your own case.

Can I get my State Pension if I retire abroad?

GOV.UK says you can, if you have paid enough UK National Insurance contributions to qualify. Yearly increases depend on where you live, and the pension goes up to the current rate if you return to live in the UK.

We always point people to the free government tracing route first, and we take nothing from financial advisers.

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