Thinking of moving abroad
If you are thinking of moving abroad you will need to think about how you would like your pension to be paid. Do you want it to continue to be paid into your current UK account or into a local account in your new country of residence?
Retirement account
If you have bought an annuity with your retirement account, please contact your provider.
Benefits built up before April 2011
If you would like your pension paid to an overseas account we would use Crown Agents Bank to make the payments.
This service benefits you in the following ways:
- Your pension is paid faster, although this might be after the 1st of the month
- Your pension is credited directly to your bank account
- Increased reliability and convenience
- Improved foreign currency exchange rate
- Lower bank charges because your pension is paid in a local currency
Monthly charges
A monthly charge of £4.00 will be taken from your net pay before it is converted into local currency.
Pension payments
Crown Agents will process your pension through its international network. They take off the £4.00 charge then convert the amount of the payment into local currency. This avoids foreign exchange conversion charges that would otherwise be charged by the receiving bank.
How much will be paid into my account?
The exact amount will vary depending on exchange rate fluctuations. However you will receive an improved exchange rate because of the sheer volume of payments giving bulk purchasing power. Additionally, no charge should be deducted by your own bank from the amount sent by Crown Agents.
What to do next
If you would like your pension paid to an overseas account please let us know. You will also need to tell us your new address.
Please complete a mandate for the country you will be moving to and return it to us. We will then make the necessary arrangements with Crown Agents to pay your pension directly into your chosen account.