Blog
A deep-dive into a variety of pension topics to help you understand and learn more about your pension and the Scheme.
4/9/2023
Editorial
<p>If you're thinking about moving abroad permanently or buying a second home outside of the UK, read on for the details you need to know.</p><p><strong>You can have your pension paid into an overseas bank account</strong></p><p>If you’re changing from a UK bank account to an overseas bank, it’s important to make sure your details, and the details of your new chosen bank are correct. </p><p>Once you’ve registered with your chosen bank, the best way for us to verify the bank and your details is through you obtaining and sending us a bank statement from your new bank. When we receive this, we’ll send it to Citibank, the company we use to exchange your pension into your new country’s currency, and they’ll be able to vet this new bank quickly. This will speed up the process of getting your pension to your new bank account.</p><p>If you’ve got an overseas bank account, it costs £2 a month (£26 per year from us), which we’ll offset by getting a good exchange rate through Citibank. You’ll need to check with the overseas bank if there’s a charge for receiving an overseas payment.</p><p><strong>Can you still use a UK bank account to receive your pension? </strong></p><p>If you plan on keeping your UK bank account, we’ll pay you in the same way as if you were living in the UK. However, it’s important to check you can maintain a UK bank account without a UK address and that will depend on your current UK bank. </p><p>If you’re closing your UK bank account, you’ll need to <a href="/defined-benefit-members/Im-taking-my-pension/updating-bank-details">complete a form with the details of your overseas bank</a>.</p><p><strong>If you’re thinking of transferring to a scheme overseas…</strong></p><p>Transferring can take a couple of days because of the additional process. You can find more information about transfers <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn3.railpen.com/mp-sitefinity-prod/docs/default-source/rayn/guides-for-db-members---active-and-preserved/transfer-options.pdf?sfvrsn=54d41644_13"><strong>here</strong></a>.</p><p><strong>You’ll still receive written correspondence from us</strong></p><p>Pension documents will still be sent to you overseas, such as your:</p><ul><li>Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) </li><li>Summary Funding Statement (SFS)</li><li>Pension saving statement</li><li>Newsletters</li></ul><p>In some countries, the postal service may take longer for you to receive your documents for us, so it’s important that you research this. However, by <a href="/register">registering for your myRPS account</a>, you can access all your important pension documents online.</p><p>We’re currently exploring giving members the option of opting out of paper communications and will update you with our progress. </p><p><strong>Impact on cost of living increases to State Pension if you’re over State Pension age</strong> </p><p>With certain countries, your UK State Pension will be fixed and you may not receive any cost of living increases to it.</p><p>Further information about the State Pension if you retire abroad is available on the <strong>Gov.uk</strong> website at <strong><a href="https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad" data-sf-ec-immutable="">gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad</a></strong>.</p>
<p>If you're thinking about moving abroad permanently or buying a second home outside of the UK, read on for the details you need to know.</p><p><strong>You can have your pension paid into an overseas bank account</strong></p><p>If you’re changing from a UK bank account to an overseas bank, it’s important to make sure your details, and the details of your new chosen bank are correct. </p><p>Once you’ve registered with your chosen bank, the best way for us to verify the bank and your details is through you obtaining and sending us a bank statement from your new bank. When we receive this, we’ll send it to Citibank, the company we use to exchange your pension into your new country’s currency, and they’ll be able to vet this new bank quickly. This will speed up the process of getting your pension to your new bank account.</p><p>If you’ve got an overseas bank account, it costs £2 a month (£26 per year from us), which we’ll offset by getting a good exchange rate through Citibank. You’ll need to check with the overseas bank if there’s a charge for receiving an overseas payment.</p><p><strong>Can you still use a UK bank account to receive your pension? </strong></p><p>If you plan on keeping your UK bank account, we’ll pay you in the same way as if you were living in the UK. However, it’s important to check you can maintain a UK bank account without a UK address and that will depend on your current UK bank. </p><p>If you’re closing your UK bank account, you’ll need to <a href="/defined-benefit-members/Im-taking-my-pension/updating-bank-details">complete a form with the details of your overseas bank</a>.</p><p><strong>If you’re thinking of transferring to a scheme overseas…</strong></p><p>Transferring can take a couple of days because of the additional process. You can find more information about transfers <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn3.railpen.com/mp-sitefinity-prod/docs/default-source/rayn/guides-for-db-members---active-and-preserved/transfer-options.pdf?sfvrsn=54d41644_13"><strong>here</strong></a>.</p><p><strong>You’ll still receive written correspondence from us</strong></p><p>Pension documents will still be sent to you overseas, such as your:</p><ul><li>Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) </li><li>Summary Funding Statement (SFS)</li><li>Pension saving statement</li><li>Newsletters</li></ul><p>In some countries, the postal service may take longer for you to receive your documents for us, so it’s important that you research this. However, by <a href="/register">registering for your myRPS account</a>, you can access all your important pension documents online.</p><p>We’re currently exploring giving members the option of opting out of paper communications and will update you with our progress. </p><p><strong>Impact on cost of living increases to State Pension if you’re over State Pension age</strong> </p><p>With certain countries, your UK State Pension will be fixed and you may not receive any cost of living increases to it.</p><p>Further information about the State Pension if you retire abroad is available on the <strong>Gov.uk</strong> website at <strong><a href="https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad" data-sf-ec-immutable="">gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad</a></strong>.</p>
Blog
Thinking of moving abroad?
When it comes to your pension and moving abroad, there are a few things to think about.
If you're thinking about moving abroad permanently or buying a second home outside of the UK, read on for the details you need to know.
You can have your pension paid into an overseas bank account
If you’re changing from a UK bank account to an overseas bank, it’s important to make sure your details, and the details of your new chosen bank are correct.
Once you’ve registered with your chosen bank, the best way for us to verify the bank and your details is through you obtaining and sending us a bank statement from your new bank. When we receive this, we’ll send it to Citibank, the company we use to exchange your pension into your new country’s currency, and they’ll be able to vet this new bank quickly. This will speed up the process of getting your pension to your new bank account.
If you’ve got an overseas bank account, it costs £2 a month (£26 per year from us), which we’ll offset by getting a good exchange rate through Citibank. You’ll need to check with the overseas bank if there’s a charge for receiving an overseas payment.
Can you still use a UK bank account to receive your pension?
If you plan on keeping your UK bank account, we’ll pay you in the same way as if you were living in the UK. However, it’s important to check you can maintain a UK bank account without a UK address and that will depend on your current UK bank.
If you’re closing your UK bank account, you’ll need to complete a form with the details of your overseas bank.
If you’re thinking of transferring to a scheme overseas…
Transferring can take a couple of days because of the additional process. You can find more information about transfers here.
You’ll still receive written correspondence from us
Pension documents will still be sent to you overseas, such as your:
- Annual Benefit Statement (ABS)
- Summary Funding Statement (SFS)
- Pension saving statement
- Newsletters
In some countries, the postal service may take longer for you to receive your documents for us, so it’s important that you research this. However, by registering for your myRPS account, you can access all your important pension documents online.
We’re currently exploring giving members the option of opting out of paper communications and will update you with our progress.
Impact on cost of living increases to State Pension if you’re over State Pension age
With certain countries, your UK State Pension will be fixed and you may not receive any cost of living increases to it.
Further information about the State Pension if you retire abroad is available on the Gov.uk website at gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad.
