UK pension while working abroad

[Howitzer]

Hi all,

I have worked in and out of the UK for the past few years.

1998 - 2004 = UK
2004 - 2006 = Abroad
2006 - 2013 = UK
2013 - Present abroad

I currently work in Norway so have to do a yearly tax return to show I pay more Norwegian tax than UK tax. I have yet to owe the UK taxman any money.

Is there a way I can keep my UK government/ old age pension as I have no intention to move out of the UK, am married with 2 children and 35 years old.

Can it be done via contributions or anything similar? I remember something about making National Insurance contributions each year but that's it.

In a perfect world I'd like my full old age pension when I am old enough plus the company pension I already pay into. This may be me in a dreamworld though as I know absolutely nothing about Tax and Pensions.

Anyone in a similar situation?

Dave!

[Saleen836]

There is a gov. website where you can register to see what contributions have been made over which years, it also tells you which years you are able to make a payment for to cover any shortfall.

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-co...

[Howitzer]

Hi, thanks for that i'll dig out my log in details and see what it says.

Fingers crossed.

Dave!

[anonymous-user]

You have two choices in Norway, dependent on your employer, If you are employed by a Norwegian Company then you will have to pay 'trygg' as part of your tax return and your employer will pay arbeidgvers avfift, and you will get a Norwegian pension, but you can make voluntary payment to the UK system.
If your employer is a UK company the he can pay you and second you to Norway and you can get a 4 year exemption from the Norway system and pay UK employee and employers NHI.
I choose the latter route, the Norwegian payments are higher but the benefits on retirement are significantly better.
Be carful about taking advice in the UK from people who do not understand the special rules in Norway, e.g you become eligible for Norwegian tax from day one in the oil industry no 183 day exemption for working for a UK company.

[NRS]

As long as you make enough payments you will get a full state pension and company one too.

I believe the Norwegian state pension is better than the UK one as mentioned above. However from memory you need to contribute for a certain number of years first, so you should check that.