UK State Pension while living in the USA

You can claim the UK State Pension while living in the U.S., and because the U.S. is on the FCDO’s list of countries where it rises each year, your pension keeps getting the annual increase. Claims go to the International Pension Centre.

The State Pension depends on your UK National Insurance record. Living in the U.S. does not stop it being paid; gov.uk says it is paid worldwide.

Annual increases in the U.S.

The yearly increase is only paid in the EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland and countries with a social security agreement with the UK, and the USA is on the list of countries where the increase is paid. gov.uk adds that you cannot get increases in Canada or New Zealand.

How to claim from the U.S.

You fill in the claim form for your State Pension age: IPCBR1NSP if you reach it on or after 6 April 2016, IPCBR1 if you reached it before, and you tell the DWP where to pay it through the International Pensions Direct Payment form (claim State Pension if you live abroad).

Need	Where
Forecast of your pension	Check your State Pension online
Claim forms and payment details	International Pension Centre forms on gov.uk
Questions, changes of address or bank	International Pension Centre, +44 191 218 7777
Gaps in your record	Voluntary National Insurance contributions

Changes, such as a new address or bank, are reported by phone or letter, not email. The IPC phone line is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm UK time.

A British consulate cannot sign your life certificate: anyone who can countersign a passport photo can.

The life certificate

The DWP may send a life certificate to check you are still eligible. You get it signed by a witness and return it; gov.uk says the witness does not have to live in the UK or hold any particular passport, and payments may be suspended if you do not send it back (State Pension if you retire abroad).

Tax

The UK and the U.S. have a double taxation agreement so you do not pay tax twice on the same income; the IRS answers questions on relief.

Have these ready

Your National Insurance number

A State Pension forecast

U.S. bank details for the payment form

Your dates of work and residence in the UK

A witness for any life certificate

Paying voluntary contributions from abroad

HMRC has a route for paying voluntary National Insurance for periods abroad, form CF83.

Moving back to the UK

Contact the Pension Service with your return date, and call HMRC about tax.

U.S. Social Security

Whether you can claim U.S. retirement benefits is a question for the Social Security Administration.

Payments and tax

Payments go straight into a bank account through International Pensions Direct Payment. If a payment date falls on a public holiday where you live, it may arrive late. How much tax you pay, and where, depends on where you count as resident (State Pension if you retire abroad).

You may also qualify if you have lived or worked abroad, and gov.uk's forecast service shows how much State Pension you may get before you claim.

Who can witness the life certificate

gov.uk says the people who can sign a life certificate are the same as those who can countersign a passport photo (documents for British people abroad).

In practice that means someone who has known you for at least 2 years, is not a relative or partner, and is a person of good standing or works in a recognized profession. Our guide to a first British passport sets out the countersignatory rules in full.

Moving to another U.S. state only means reporting the new address to the International Pension Centre, by phone or letter. If you also want a say in UK elections from the U.S., see voting from abroad.

All the procedures

Fees and requirements