Buy Back Years UK Pension and Brexit

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AgnesD

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Hi
I have been offered the option to buy back gap years in my Uk Pension. The cost benifit is very positive and i would like to go ahead. However the cost is £8000, and i would not like to loose this money if post Brexit the UK decide not to pay future pensions to those living outside of the Uk. I would be grateful for advice.
 
Ask Mrs May?

No one knows anything about future arrangements for UK pensions paid to those living outside the UK, whether UK citizens or not.

Lots of opinions and hopeful assertions but I think it's a case of paying your money and hoping for the best
 
The UK already pays pensions to thousands of people outside the EU, and they said last year they'd pay pensions to people in the EU after Brexit. This doesn't appear to have anything to do with any EU deal.

Pensioners in some countries don't get annual increases in their pensions if there aren't social security agreements in place, and are 'frozen' at the level when they retired, but they've said this won't happen to EEA residents.
 
Well, British retirees living in the US and Canada both receive the UK state pension. The US pensioners get the normal, indexed increases in their pensions, but the Canadians don't. Neither country is in the EU.

UK pensioners all around the world receive pensions whether they are in the EU or not (and have done for decades), and there's no reason why that would change because of Brexit. You don't need to be a citizen either, just have paid the minimum level of contributions.

Would the Irish government not pay your state pension if you retired abroad? Are there any modern countries that wouldn't pay state pensions to people who've made contributions just because they lived abroad?
 
I agree that currently governments pay pensions to those entitled to them and no doubt will continue to do so for some time in the future - but in this era of growing populism and nationalism it is not beyond belief that a future government might renege on its promise to pay pensions to those living abroad particularly if they are not citizens of the country nor accorded rights under EU agreements.

If the OP is hoping to retire in the next few years, then yes it is probably a good "investment" to purchase the missing contributions but if his/her retirement date is many years in the future then that is a more difficult decision.

Also, you will be purchasing the pension entitlements in current £s but be receiving them in future £ and who knows what the £/€ exchange rate will be post-Brexit, never mind in 5, 10 or 15 years time
 
Yes, governments can try all sorts of shenanigans, and they surely will, given an ageing population.
If I planned to retire abroad, and the government decided not to pay my pension, then I might well have to stay put and be an angry pensioner. In that case I'm much more of a burden to the state then simply receiving my contributory pension in Portugal or Spain, as they might need to pay for all sorts of age-related healthcare, housing, assistance, etc. for me. And given how strong the grey vote is, I'm sure I could mark my X in the appropriate box for the party who might promise to continue paying for retirees abroad, knowing how much cheaper they are...

Anyway, if you have the money now, pay it to buy back those years. If there are future years you are entitled to buy, put some in a sterling/UK account (if you still have one) to minimise exchange rates, and set up a direct debit to pay your class 2 or 3 contributions. They look like great value while available.
 
AgnesD said:
Hi
I have been offered the option to buy back gap years in my Uk Pension. The cost benifit is very positive and i would like to go ahead. However the cost is £8000, and i would not like to loose this money if post Brexit the UK decide not to pay future pensions to those living outside of the Uk. I would be grateful for advice.
Click to expand...

Who knows what will happen.

I guess there's always a risk with any financial investment. Even state pensions may not be bullet proof in the future.

I'm in the same boat though, with an opportunity to pay a large sum to HMRC to make up gaps for the past few years.

Personally I'm more concerned about Ireland not paying me a pension in the future because they don't like the fact that I paid voluntary contributions into one EU PRSI scheme whilst at the same time already compulsory contributing to the Irish one.

£8,000 is a fair chunk of change, you must be buying back at least 10 years with that, so best of luck.
 
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