5

I am a Spanish citizen who has been living in UK for the past 7 years. During this period I have always worked here and I haven't received any income from Spain.

I have also regularly contributed to a pension scheme that my company has setup and where the company contributes as well.

The question I have is what happens to my state pension contributions and my personal pension scheme in the event that I will leave the UK before I actually start getting retirement benefits?

For simplicity, let's say I am 35 and I will stay here in UK other 3 years (so a total of 10 years of contributions in UK) and I decide to move back to Spain to work the remaining years until retirement.

When I retire, will I be eligible for a state pension from the UK even if I am then in Spain? And would that cumulate to the one I will get from Spain?

I guess my personal pension scheme won't be a problem and I should be entitled to get the all money out as I want based on UK rules even if I am in Spain at that point.

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

After 10 working/qualifying years in the UK you will receive an UK pension as things currently stand. The amount will increase to the full amount as you accumulate more qualifying years.

https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/how-its-calculated

If you take it abroad, it may not be index-regulated, however, which seems rather unfair

Improve this answer
3
  • Hi, if the pension is not index-regulated that means is not getting adjusted by inflation? The link gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad/… suggests that there is an increase in case of Spain.
    – opt
    Oct 21, 2019 at 15:11
  • 1
    For the time being it is written in the section State Pension and benefits on the page https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-the-eu-prepare-for-brexit that uprating is only guaranteed until 2023. It may of course be continued, but they haven't decided yet as far as I understand.
    – nsandersen
    Oct 22, 2019 at 11:13
  • 1
    @nsandersen It’s not something the UK government can decide unilaterally. It will uprate pensions only as part of a bilateral agreement where Spain agrees to do the same for its pensioners living in the UK. Which I expect they will do, since there are far more UK pensioners in Spain than vice versa.
    – Mike Scott
    Apr 13, 2020 at 9:55
0

[...]

When I retire, will I be eligible for a state pension from the UK even if I am then in Spain? [...]

Probably.

[...] And would that cumulate to the one I will get from Spain?

[...]

Likely so.

[...] I guess my personal pension scheme won't be a problem and I should be entitled to get the all money out as I want based on UK rules even if I am in Spain at that point.

Very likely.

And you'd input such stuff in your modelo 100 because law will likely demand something similar to current Ley 35/2006, de 28 de noviembre, del Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas, which is [...] renta [...] con independencia del lugar donde se hubiesen producido [...]. Unless you are somehow eligible to the IRNR law or any other future replacing it.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.