Expat Pension Planning
Moving abroad doesn’t stop your UK pensions from existing – but it does change almost everything about how they should be managed. A workplace pension that made sense when you were a UK taxpayer paying in from a UK payroll may not be the right home for that money once your income, tax residency and long-term plans have all changed. Multiple pots left behind with different old employers, a state pension entitlement you’re not sure how to claim from overseas, and a currency mismatch between where your pension is invested and where you actually live are all common starting points for the expats we talk to.
This section covers the main building blocks of expat pension planning, and where relevant, licensed pension advice for our clients is provided through Just Service Global.
Pension advice is a regulated activity, separate from mortgage broking. Premier Expat Mortgages introduces pension enquiries to Just Service Global, an international adviser network. Gerard Ward is licensed to advise via the Just Service Global network and licence. Nothing on this page constitutes personal financial advice – a full assessment is carried out as part of that introduction.
Why Pension Planning Is Different for Expats
A handful of things change the moment you move your tax residency outside the UK, and each has knock-on effects for how your pensions should be structured:
- Currency – a UK pension pays out in sterling by default, which may not match the currency you’ll actually be spending in during retirement
- Tax residency – where you’re tax resident when you draw your pension affects how (and where) it’s taxed, and whether double taxation relief applies
- Access and consolidation – old workplace pensions scattered across several former employers become harder to track and manage from overseas
- The 25% tax-free lump sum – still available to non-UK residents in most cases, but the mechanics of drawing it can differ depending on scheme type and where you live
- Inheritance – how a pension passes to beneficiaries, and the tax treatment for them, depends heavily on scheme type and jurisdiction
- The State Pension – unlike private pensions, entitlement doesn’t transfer between schemes, and whether it keeps rising each year depends entirely on which country you live in
Where to Start: Taking Stock
Before any decision about transferring, consolidating, or restructuring, it helps to have a clear picture of what you actually hold: a list of every UK pension (workplace, personal, and any old employer schemes you may have lost track of), each one’s scheme type – defined contribution or defined benefit – since that changes the rules significantly, your State Pension forecast, and roughly when and where you expect to retire. Gov.uk’s pension tracing service can help locate old workplace pensions if you’re missing paperwork from a previous employer. This stocktake is usually the first thing a proper pension review does, and it’s worth doing even before deciding whether you want advice, since it often clarifies how much complexity you’re actually dealing with.
The Building Blocks of Expat Pension Planning
Most expats we speak to are dealing with some combination of the following, each covered in more detail on its own page:
- Expat Pension Transfers – consolidating old workplace and personal pensions, and understanding when a transfer genuinely helps versus when it doesn’t
- QROPS – transferring a UK pension into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme, and when that structure suits your circumstances
- Final Salary & Defined Benefit Pension Transfers – the specific, tightly regulated advice process required for safeguarded benefits
- Expat SIPP – consolidating into a Self-Invested Personal Pension for flexibility and investment choice while living abroad
- UK State Pension for Expats – claiming your state pension entitlement from overseas, and the rules around annual uprating
How We Work With Just Service Global
Premier Expat Mortgages is a mortgage brokerage, not a pension advice firm – pension advice sits under separate regulatory permissions. Where a client’s circumstances call for pension advice, we introduce the enquiry to Just Service Global, an international adviser network that has been supporting expatriate and internationally mobile clients since 2016. Gerard Ward is licensed to advise via the Just Service Global network and licence. That introduction is the start of a separate, fully regulated advice process – including its own fact-find, suitability assessment and documentation – carried out independently of any mortgage work we do for you. For defined benefit transfers specifically, this also involves a UK FCA-authorised Pension Transfer Specialist, since that advice sits under permissions the Just Service Global network doesn’t itself replace – see our Final Salary & Defined Benefit Pension Transfers page for how that works.
What a Pension Review Typically Covers
A proper expat pension review looks at the full picture rather than any single pot in isolation: what pensions you currently hold and their scheme type, whether consolidation would genuinely simplify your position, your intended retirement age and country of residence at that point, currency exposure across your total retirement savings, whether your State Pension will be subject to the freeze in your country of residence, and how your pension interacts with your wider tax position both now and once you draw it. For anyone with a defined benefit (final salary) entitlement, that review is subject to additional regulatory requirements – covered on our Final Salary & Defined Benefit Pension Transfers page.
Avoiding Pension Scams
Expats are a frequent target for pension scams – unsolicited contact offering early access before age 55, guaranteed high returns, or unusually exotic overseas investments dressed up as legitimate pension products. A genuine adviser will be verifiable on the FCA Register (or the equivalent register for their licensing jurisdiction), will never pressure you to act quickly, and will always set out fees clearly in writing before any work begins. If you’re ever unsure, free and impartial guidance is available through MoneyHelper, independent of any adviser or provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Premier Expat Mortgages give pension advice directly?
No. We introduce pension enquiries to Just Service Global, where advice is delivered by a licensed adviser – Gerard Ward is licensed to advise via the Just Service Global network and licence.
Do I need to transfer my UK pensions if I move abroad?
No – many expats leave UK pensions exactly where they are, and that’s often the right answer. Whether a transfer helps depends entirely on your specific pots, scheme types and plans.
Can I still access my UK pension while living overseas?
Generally yes, from age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028) under current rules, though the practicalities and tax treatment depend on your country of residence.
Is pension advice free?
Initial conversations are generally free of charge; the specific approach and any fees for ongoing advice are set out clearly as part of the introduction to Just Service Global, before anything is agreed.
How do I find old pensions I’ve lost track of?
Gov.uk’s free pension tracing service can help locate old workplace pensions using an employer’s name, even without paperwork to hand.
What’s the first step if I want a proper pension review?
A basic stocktake of what you hold – scheme types, values and your State Pension forecast – followed by an introduction to Just Service Global for a full assessment.
Get in touch with an overview of your current pension arrangements and where you’re now based, and we’ll point you toward the right next step.
