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Pension when moving back to UK
I'm a UK national who has been working in Belgium for the past 2.5 years. I plan to move back to the UK and am unclear about whether there is some way to transfer my state pension contribution during this time so it's not lost. Quite clueless about this process and where to find the relevant information online, so any advice would be most welcome! Thanks.
Your state pension will stay in Belgium and you'll get it (pro-rata) when you retire.
You cannot transfer it to the UK.
Contact pensions advisory service in UK. it is free.
In the EU, there is a system to transfer and/or consolidate into a single fund. If I recall, it is the final country that you will retire in that will do all the paperwork and contact the other countries on your behalf. No idea if Brexit has messed that all up.
There are also specific rules per country that you may want to check. For example, you could (not sure if still valid) take most your social contributions in a lump sum from Germany instead of consolidating your pension since there is a min. 5 yrs working to qualify for a pension. There are conditions to it of course (e.g you cant return and work in Germany if I recall). Not sure if Belgium has a similar option.
In a nutshell, call the UK pension service (free). Then if necessary get independent financial adviser (cost).
When I needed info on this topic I asked my mutuelle. They have a specific service to advise on this and they were very helpful. Do all mutuelles offer the same service? All you can do is ask.
From memory, if you are eligible, your Belgian pension will be paid wherever in the world you are living when you reach pensionable age but I think you have had to paid in for 5 years for this to apply. I don't know what happens if you haven't paid for 5 years.
You can log in to www.mypension.be and see how much it is.
They also have very helpful advisors at the pension service who will talk to you.
