collecting a USA pension as a UK resident

atush

I am sure my statement mentioned quarters

bocaboca

Thanks for the tip about USA pension;
I checked and i only have 4 credits and , as mentioned above, you need at least 40 ( ~10 years) to qualify

kangoora

bocaboca wrote: »

Thanks for the tip about USA pension;
I checked and i only have 4 credits and , as mentioned above, you need at least 40 ( ~10 years) to qualify

Pretty sure the USA-UK Totalisation Treaty allows you to use pension credit years earned in UK as USA years towards obtaining a pension.

Note this doesn't mean if you have 35 years in UK you'll get a pension based on 35 years working in USA. It will just mean you get 'credited' with 35 years in the USA system but you would only get a pension based on 4 quarters contributions - which won't be very much at all.

JezR

dunroving wrote: »

No, 10 years* is the minimum to qualify to receive anything, all other things being equal. See my post about the OP using the Totalization Agreement if he doesn't meet this minimum requirement.

Fair enough, must have misunderstood.

dunroving

dunroving wrote: »

<<snip>>


Re: US Social Security, you normally need to have a minimum of 40 credits (essentially 10 years) of contributions to qualify for a pension. However, my understanding is that using the US-UK totalization agreement (social security agreement), you can use contributions to the UK "social security" (NI contributions) to meet the minimum requirement.


This doesn't mean that if you have 3 years in US SS and 30 years in UK NI, you can use the 30 years to "bump" your US SS record to 33 years. It means that whereas you'd normally simply not qualify for a US pension at all, you can qualify to get one, but it would be based on 3 years' contributions (which is better than zero). This will also be reduced by the Windfall Elimination provision, or WEP (Google it) if you are receiving any UK pensions, but there is a maximum reduction, so again, you should still get something.


Depending on your age, the standard age for receiving US "state pension" (SS-based) is about 66, but you can apply to receive it as early as 62, at a lower rate.


I worked in the US for over 10 years and will be drawing US SS pension and also drawing from my university 401a. My plan is actually to repatriate most of it to the UK. You can't transfer a US pension fund directly into a UK pension fund. My plan is to take regular withdrawals and pay into a SIPP. So I will pay tax on receipt of it but get tax relief on paying into a SIPP. This all has to fall under the annual allowance limits, etc., and I will put some of it into ISAs.


Hope that helps! It can seem very complicated, and I have had battles with TIAA-CREF, but the basic principles are not too complex.

bocaboca wrote: »

Thanks for the tip about USA pension;
I checked and i only have 4 credits and , as mentioned above, you need at least 40 ( ~10 years) to qualify

See my Post #4, esp. bolded section above.


You may only qualify for $500 a year but it's better than a slap in the face.