If a move abroad is already on the calendar, your pensions are one of the things worth sorting out before you go rather than after – some of it is genuinely easier to handle while you’re still UK-based. Here’s a practical checklist for the run-up to departure.
Locate Every Pension You Hold
Start with a complete list: every workplace pension from every employer, any personal pensions, and your State Pension forecast. If you’ve lost track of anything, the government’s free pension tracing service can locate old workplace pensions using just an employer’s name – far easier to chase down paperwork while you still have a UK address and phone number providers can easily verify.
Identify Any Defined Benefit Pensions
Check whether any of your pensions are defined benefit (final salary) schemes rather than defined contribution – this fundamentally changes what your options are, since a defined benefit transfer above £30,000 legally requires specialist regulated advice from a UK Pension Transfer Specialist. It’s worth identifying this now rather than discovering it later, since it affects your whole timeline.
Get Your State Pension Forecast and Check Your Destination’s Status
Request your State Pension forecast, and check specifically whether your destination country is one where the UK State Pension continues to rise annually, or one where it’s frozen at the rate first paid. This single fact meaningfully affects how much your other pensions need to do in retirement, and it’s far easier to plan around now than to discover after you’ve settled somewhere.
Check for National Insurance Gaps
If your NI record has gaps, it’s worth checking whether voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 contributions are worth making – sometimes more straightforward to arrange while you’re still UK-resident, though voluntary contributions from overseas are also possible once you’ve left.
Decide Whether to Consolidate Before or After You Move
There’s no fixed rule on timing, but there are trade-offs either way. Consolidating before you leave means dealing with UK providers while you still have a UK address and can more easily provide identity verification in person if needed. Waiting until you’re settled means making decisions with a clearer picture of your actual country of residence and tax position, rather than planning around assumptions that might change once you’re there. Which approach suits you depends on how settled your destination plans already are.
Update Beneficiary Nominations
Check and update the beneficiary nomination on every pension you hold – this is often overlooked amid the broader logistics of an international move, but it costs nothing and takes minutes, and it’s exactly the kind of detail that’s easy to forget once you’re dealing with the practical chaos of relocating.
Sort Out UK Banking and Correspondence
Decide whether to keep a UK bank account open for pension-related transactions, and set up mail forwarding or a UK correspondence address if needed – pension providers can be slow to update international addresses, and missed correspondence about a pension is easy to lose track of during a move.
Flag Any US Tax Status Early
If you’re a US citizen or green card holder, this needs to be factored into every pension decision from the outset, since US tax rules significantly affect which options – particularly QROPS – are sensible to consider.
Get a Proper Review Before You Leave, Not After
A pension review doesn’t need to happen the week before you fly, but starting the conversation before you leave, rather than months after you’ve settled somewhere new, generally means fewer decisions made under time pressure and more options genuinely open to you.
Where to Go From Here
Our Expat Pension Planning hub covers each of these areas in full detail, including pension transfers and the UK State Pension. If you’re also arranging a UK mortgage before or after your move, visit our Premier Expat Mortgages homepage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I sort out my pensions before I move, or wait until I’m settled?
There are trade-offs either way – it depends on how settled your destination plans already are and how straightforward your pensions are.
What’s the most commonly forgotten item on this list?
Updating beneficiary nominations – it’s easy to overlook amid the broader logistics of relocating.
How far in advance should I start this process?
There’s no fixed rule, but starting a few months before departure generally avoids decisions made under time pressure.
Get in touch with your move timeline and a rough picture of your pensions, and we’ll help you work through this checklist properly.
