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Retaining Your UK Pension Benefits When Living in France:
What You Need to Know France Flag

For many British retirees moving to France or elsewhere in Europe, a key question is: Should I leave my UK pension where it is, or transfer it?

Before Brexit, keeping your pension in the UK was often the simplest and most cost-effective option. Now, the situation has changed, and it’s important to understand the pros and cons of retaining your existing pension benefits while living in France. Fill in the form to access our full guide and explore other resources that can help you plan your finances effectively.

Access Challenges Post-Brexit in France

Since Brexit, accessing UK pension schemes from France has become more difficult. This is especially true if your UK pension only offers an annuity as its retirement option. An annuity pays a fixed income for life, but many UK annuity providers won’t pay directly to residents in France or may impose unfavourable conditions.

Similarly, some pension schemes don’t allow flexi-access drawdown for non-UK residents. If you can’t use drawdown while living in France, you might be forced to transfer your pension to an alternative arrangement that does allow it. If you need to transfer, you generally need to do this through a financial adviser as the providers don’t allow you to do it yourself.

A desk with a puzzle of the EU flag, with a single missing piece showing the UK Union Jack, symbolizing the complexities for UK retirees managing pensions post-Brexit

The Advantages of Retaining a UK Pension in France

Strong Guarantees

Many UK pensions, especially defined benefit schemes, provide guaranteed income for life. These reliable payouts can be hard to match elsewhere, giving expats in France financial security in retirement.

Death Benefits

Some pensions include death-in-service or survivor benefits for spouses or dependents. These protections can be valuable if your family lives in France or across Europe.

Flexible Retirement Options

A few UK pension providers allow drawdown or annuity options without restrictions, offering flexibility for retirees living in France, though this is less common.

Possible Downsides for Expats in France

Restrictions on Access

Some UK pensions don’t allow drawdown or annuity payments abroad, including in France, and may restrict withdrawals to UK bank accounts only.

Restrictions on Death Benefits

UK pension death benefits can change if you pass away outside the UK, including France, potentially resulting in significant tax liabilities for your heirs.

Limited Investment Options

Some pensions offer only UK-based investments, limiting your ability to diversify globally and manage your retirement income effectively while living in France.

Currency Risk

UK pensions are paid in Sterling. If your expenses are in Euros in France, exchange rate fluctuations may impact your spending power.

Plan for French Taxes on Your UK Pension

If you keep your UK pension while living in France, it’s important to understand how it will be taxed. Once you reclaim UK tax or obtain an NT code, French income tax and social charges will apply to your pension, just like other income.

Stay informed about the current French tax rates to see how your retirement income will be affected and make smarter decisions about retaining or transferring your UK pension.

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Making the Right Decision for Your Retirement in France

Ultimately, whether you should retain your UK pension benefits or transfer them to an overseas scheme depends on your individual needs and goals in France.

The first step is to understand your current pension, its guarantees, access options, fees, and flexibility. Equally important is clarifying your own objectives: Do you need flexibility while living in France? Are you concerned about currency risk? Do you value guaranteed income?

What does the obligation free call include?

An initial 15-minute introduction call explaining our services and how we can help.

We go through a fact-finding exercise so we can then provide a full financial planning report including a personalised retirement forecast with future projections and work out how on track you are.

Lastly, we will provide a recommendation on any areas where we feel you could improve.

Who is SJB Global and meet your adviser

Our regulations, Independence and Fees

Our process from start to finish

Area we help with including:

UK Pension Advice

Retirement Planning

Investment Planning

Tax Planning

US Expat Services

International Estate Planning

Note: Minimum managed assets for SJB Global is £100,000 or currency equivalent.

Licensing & Regulations

Nexus Global specialises in providing a regulatory platform and compliance support to international financial advisers and intermediaries to enable them to meet regulatory requirements to provide their clients with a professional service. The financial advisers trading under SJB Global are members of Nexus Global. Nexus Global is a division of Blacktower Financial Management (International) Limited (BFMI). All approved members of Nexus Global are appointed representatives of BFMI. BFMI is licensed and regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (FSC) and bound by the rules under licence number 3647: http://www.fsc.gi/regulated-entity/blacktower-financial-management-international-limited-3647.

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