Moving To The US - Should I be paying a pension here?

Joey122

I m seriously thinking of moving to the US and plan to live there indefinitely.

My question is quite simple : WIll I still be eligible for a UK pension if I decide to come back here when I am 65? I believe I am because they have a dual tax treaty - Is this accurate?

Ian_W

Joey122 wrote: »

My question is quite simple : WIll I still be eligible for a UK pension if I decide to come back here when I am 65? I believe I am because they have a dual tax treaty - Is this accurate?

Depending on your age now - you won't be entitled to a state pension at age 65 even if you stay here and pay NI contributions as, IIRC, from 2020 state retirement age will move up over time to 67.
From 2010 you'll need 30yrs NI contributions to qualify for a full basic state pension, you could possibly arrange to pay these from the States but if you pay nothing further in NI then I don't think you will qualify for a full pension, just one based on your contributions to date if they're enough to qualify for anything at all. The TPAS website might help further or give them a call.
I don't think the double taxation treaty is at all relevant - it just means you don't get taxed twice on the same money in 2 different jurisdictions - and morally why should the UK taxpayers when you're 65 pay for your pension if you've made little or no contribution during your working life? Surely the US taxpayer should fund your pension in these circs?

Cook_County

The UK state pension is (mostly) contribution based. If you contribute either Class 1, 2 or 3 contributions, you benefit.

The US system requires - broadly - a minimum of 40 quarters of contributions before you get any social security benefits.

However the totalisation agreement between the 2 countries allows either for partial benefits or for contributions in one country's to be counted in calculating benefits from the other country.

You may well therefore find you get government paid pensions from both countries.

The double tax treaty is only relevant for tax, it is the totalisation agreement that deals with social security.

EdInvestor

Joey122 wrote: »

My question is quite simple : WIll I still be eligible for a UK pension if I decide to come back here when I am 65? I believe I am because they have a dual tax treaty - Is this accurate?

You will need 30 years of NI contributions to get the full basic state pension if you retire after 2010.

If you are based overseas you can pay voluntary class 2 contributions @ less than a tenner a month to acquire the additional years.

Find out how many years you have clocked up already here:

https://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk