{"id":383923,"date":"2026-01-22T09:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/383923\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T09:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:51:11","slug":"brits-who-spent-time-abroad-told-to-check-if-they-qualify-for-pension-before-66","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/383923\/","title":{"rendered":"Brits who spent time abroad told to check if they qualify for pension before 66"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people may be eligible for an extra state pension or could start their payments before reaching UK state pension age\"Person<\/p>\n

People who lived or worked abroad may have forgotten pensions waiting for them(Image: GETTY)<\/p>\n

Certain people could be eligible for an extra state pension <\/a>before they hit the UK\u2019s state pension age<\/a> by claiming an overseas pension. The Department for Work and Pensions<\/a> has urged Brits who lived or worked in any of 32 countries to take action.<\/a><\/p>\n

This could make them eligible for a state pension from the country they lived or worked in, if they meet certain criteria. People who may be eligible are urged to contact the DWP<\/a> as they can pass on your information to the relevant foreign authorities who will decide if you are entitled to additional state pensions.<\/p>\n

Government guidance<\/a> notes: \u201cYou may be able to claim an overseas state pension before you\u2019re UK State Pension age. Your eligibility will depend on that country\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you lived or worked in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, you can check the European Commission website<\/a> to find out the pension age for the country you lived or worked in (and) how long you need to have lived or worked in the country to be eligible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Person<\/p>\n

Some overseas state pensions are available earlier than in the UK(Image: GETTY)<\/p>\n

This may apply to you if you lived in any of these countries:<\/p>\n

DenmarkFinlandIcelandLiechtensteinNetherlandsNorwaySweden<\/p>\n

It may also apply to you if you worked in any of these countries:<\/p>\n

AustriaBelgiumBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicEstoniaFranceGermanyGibraltarGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaPolandPortugalRomaniaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwitzerland\"State<\/p>\n

People who think they may be eligible in the listed countries are advised to contact the DWP(Image: GETTY)<\/p>\n

Each of these countries will have different requirements and rules around who is eligible for a state pension. For example, according to the European Commission website, every person who has worked in Belgium has a right to a retirement pension.<\/p>\n

However, the amount depends on how long you worked, your pay and family circumstances. This pension can be taken as early as 60 if certain conditions are met.<\/p>\n

Similarly, everyone who has worked or lived in Sweden could potentially receive a public pension based on the income they paid tax on.<\/p>\n

If you have lived or worked in one of the listed countries, you\u2019ll need to inform the DWP and make a claim for a foreign pension by completing a form on the Gov.uk <\/a>website and send it to the UK\u2019s International Pension Centre.<\/a><\/p>\n

If you lived or worked in a different country not listed, you may need to apply to their pension scheme directly. More information can be found on the Gov.uk website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some people may be eligible for an extra state pension or could start their payments before reaching UK…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[84,2219,16776,4176,4174,4175,2220,2221,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-383923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-department-for-work-and-pensions","tag-european-commission","tag-finance","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-public-services","tag-state-pension","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}