Guidance

Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension

Published 9 June 2014

© Crown copyright 2014

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pensions-annual-increases-if-you-live-abroad/countries-where-we-pay-an-annual-increase-in-the-state-pension

We pay the UK State Pension worldwide. However, you will only get an increase every year if you live in:

  • the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland
  • a country that has a social security agreement with the UK that allows for cost of living increases to the State Pension

EEA countries and Switzerland

If you currently live in the EEA or Switzerland and receive a UK State Pension, you will usually get an increase in your pension every year.

The EEA countries are:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden

Countries the UK has a social security agreement with

The UK has agreements with some other countries to protect the social security rights of workers moving between the 2 countries.

These are sometimes known as ‘bilateral agreements’ or ‘reciprocal agreements’.

If you live in one of the following countries and receive a UK State Pension, you will usually get an increase in your pension every year:

  • Barbados
  • Bermuda
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina
  • Gibraltar
  • Guernsey
  • the Isle of Man
  • Israel
  • Jamaica
  • Jersey
  • Kosovo
  • Mauritius
  • Montenegro
  • North Macedonia
  • the Philippines
  • Serbia
  • Turkey
  • USA

The UK has social security agreements with Canada and New Zealand, but you cannot get a yearly increase in your UK State Pension if you live in either of those countries.

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