If you’re planning to retire abroad you will need to decide whether to have your pension paid into a United Kingdom (UK) bank account or a local bank in the country you are moving to. You should also consider any tax implications that retiring abroad may involve.
Paying your pension into a non-UK bank
If you choose to have your pension paid into a local bank, we will pay your pension to your bank account via Convera UK Ltd.
We will send your pension to Convera UK Ltd on the traditional payment date in the UK. They will convert any payments into the local currency before forwarding it on to your bank. There is no charge for this service which takes approximately three banking days.
To have your pension paid overseas you will need to complete a bank mandate for your country and send it to us. You can send the paper original to our offices, or if your pension is already in payment you can email it to us at pension.payments@gmpf.org.uk. The mandate must include your signature, so you would need to scan it first. Please be aware that sending any personal information via email is not a secure method and any information you do send is done at your own risk.
What are the tax implications?
Different countries have their own tax rules and laws. When you have income from one country and are resident in another, you may have to pay tax in both countries under their different tax laws. To help avoid being taxed twice the United Kingdom (UK) has negotiated double taxation (DT) agreements with more than 100 countries.
If you are a resident of a double taxation country you may be able to apply for relief from UK tax, you will need to contact the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) residency team by visiting the HMRC website.
I live abroad, how do I complete a bank mandate?
To have your pension paid overseas you will need to complete a bank mandate for your country and send it to us. To receive the correct bank mandate form, please call our Customer Services team on 0161 301 7000 and request a form to complete and return. We can either post or email the form to you, but as the form needs to be signed you will need to be able to print it. The form will be sent upon completing the necessary security checks and the email address will need to match what is on your record. We will only accept changes to bank details by this method. If you write in to update your bank details by letter we will send you the necessary form to complete. Any changes must be to an account in your name (or in the case of a joint account, you must be one of the account holders).
You can send the original paper copy to our offices, or if your pension is already in payment you can email it to us or upload it to your My Pension account as a ‘document type’. It must include your signature so if you’re emailing or uploading it, you would need to scan it first. Please be aware that sending any personal information by email is not a secure method and any information you do send is done so at your own risk.
We pay members pensions directly through Convera UK Ltd. We send your monthly pension to Convera UK Ltd on the traditional payment date each month. Convera UK Ltd convert the payment into your local currency before forwarding the payment onto your bank. There is no charge for this service and it takes approximately three banking days.