UK Pension Contributions for Non-Residents: Expat Retirement Hack
Living in Australia but want to boost your UK State Pension? You might be eligible to make cheap voluntary National Insurance contributions. Here's how.
Did you know that the UK government will kindly allow you to make tax-relieved contributions to a UK personal pension even after leaving the UK?
That's right: you can contribute up to £2,880 net (which is topped up by UK tax relief to £3,600 gross) each tax year for up to five years after you have left the UK, provided you were a UK resident when the pension was set up. This is a fantastic benefit for managing a UK pension for Australian residents.
But the real holy grail of UK expat planning is making voluntary National Insurance contributions (UK). If you have worked in the UK in the past, you can often pay cheap Class 2 or class 3 NI contributions from Australia to buy back missing years of your National Insurance record. This directly increases your weekly UK state pension in Australia when you reach retirement age.
Whether you plan to eventually transfer a UK pension to Australia or simply claim the UK state pension alongside your Aussie superannuation, keeping these contributions going is a massive win.
Read more about moving abroad and pensions on the official advisory service: pensionsadvisoryservice
