The new State Pension
If you've lived or worked abroad
If you’ve lived or worked in another country, this could affect your claim for the new State Pension. How it could affect your claim depends on:
- how many qualifying years you have in your National Insurance record
- which countries you’ve lived or worked in
You’ll be asked to provide details about time spent abroad when you claim the new State Pension.
You might also be eligible for a foreign state pension as well as the new State Pension in the UK. Contact the foreign pension service to find out about your eligibility.
If you’re planning to claim the new State Pension while living abroad, find out how living abroad can affect your pension payments and find out where you’ll need to pay tax on your pension.
If you have less than 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record
You usually need 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to be eligible.
You could still be eligible if you made contributions to the state pensions in:
- the European Economic Area (EEA) – this includes any country in the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
- any country that has a social security agreement with the UK
You could also be eligible if you’ve lived in:
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Australia, before 5 April 2001
If you made contributions in the EEA, Switzerland or a country with a social security agreement
Time spent making contributions in these countries can be added to the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record.
That time will be added on when you make a claim.
If you have 10 or more years in total, you could get the new State Pension.
However, the amount you actually get paid will only be based on the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record.
Example
You have 7 qualifying years from the UK on your National Insurance record when you reach State Pension age.
You worked in an EEA country for 16 years and paid contributions to that country’s state pension.
You will meet the minimum qualifying years to get the new State Pension because of the time you worked abroad. Your new State Pension amount will only be based on the 7 years of National Insurance contributions you made in the UK.
If you’ve lived in Canada, New Zealand or Australia
If you currently live in the UK, time spent living in Canada or New Zealand could be added to the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record. Time spent living in Australia before 5 April 2001 can also be added.
If you do not currently live in the UK, you might also be able to add this time if all of the following apply:
- you currently live in the EEA or Switzerland
- you’re a UK, EEA or Swiss national
- you’ve lived in the same country since before 1 January 2022
Wherever you live, you’ll also have to meet other criteria. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will work out whether you meet these criteria when you make a claim.
If you meet the criteria and the time can be added, you could get the new State Pension if you have 10 or more years in total.
The amount you get paid will be based on the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record and the time added on from these countries.
You can only get paid up to the full rate of the new State Pension.
If you have 10 or more qualifying years on your National Insurance record
You can get more qualifying years added to your National Insurance record if you made state pension contributions in:
- the European Economic Area (EEA) – this includes any country in the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
You can also get more money from your new State Pension if you’ve lived in:
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Australia, before 5 April 2001
If you made contributions in the EEA or Switzerland
Usually, if you have not made UK National Insurance contributions for a full year then it will not count as a qualifying year.
However, partial years of making UK National Insurance contributions could count if:
- you made UK National Insurance contributions for part of a year
- you also made state pension contributions in that same year to any country in the EEA or Switzerland
The time spent paying UK National Insurance contributions will then be added onto your qualifying years when you make your claim.
If you’ve lived in Canada, New Zealand or Australia
If you currently live in the UK, time spent living in Canada or New Zealand could be added to the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record. Time spent living in Australia before 5 April 2001 can also be added.
If you do not currently live in the UK, you might also be able to add this time if all of the following apply:
- you currently live in the EEA or Switzerland
- you’re a UK, EEA or Swiss national
- you’ve lived in the same country since before 1 January 2022
Wherever you live, you’ll also have to meet other criteria. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will work out whether you meet these criteria when you make a claim.
If you meet the criteria and the time can be added, then the amount you get paid will be based on the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record and the time added on.
You can only get paid up to the full rate of the new State Pension.