This one is the least welcome article we write for the UK. Many European retirees picture a quiet life in a Cornish village or an Edinburgh flat. After Brexit, the legal route that used to make that possible mostly disappeared.
The picture is mixed: some retirees already have rights, some can use a family route and some should look at another country. Here is how retiring in the UK works now, and what to check before you commit.
Can you retire in the UK after Brexit?
It depends on how you get permission to stay. The old category for retired people with their own means, the retired person of independent means route, is closed to new applicants, and GOV.UK withdrew its guidance on 9 November 2022, stating that it has not been replaced. None of the purposes offered by the official visa checker, from tourism, work and study to joining family, is retirement. Savings, however large, do not give you a right to live in the UK.
So there are three situations:
- You already have status. If you lived in the UK before 2021 and hold settled or pre-settled status, you can stay and retire. See the EU Settlement Scheme guide.
- You are Irish. The Common Travel Area lets you live in the UK without a visa; see Irish citizens moving to the UK.
- You are neither. A family visa, for instance to join a partner or child who is British or settled, may be possible. Without a family link, no clear route appears, and a regulated adviser is the next step.
How does healthcare work for a retiree with an S1?
If your State Pension is paid by an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you may be entitled to an S1 certificate from that country's health insurance authority. You register it by sending it to the Overseas Healthcare Services team at the NHS Business Services Authority, and that country then pays for your NHS care. Without registering it, it is just paper.
The S1 also opens a refund of the Immigration Health Surcharge for visas that started on or after 1 January 2021: full if the S1 covers the whole visa, partial otherwise. For an S1 from Switzerland the refund goes back only to 1 November 2021, and for Iceland and Liechtenstein to 1 January 2024. Register with a GP too; see healthcare in the UK for expats. Irish citizens use the NHS on the same terms as UK residents and do not pay the surcharge.
Trying to see which of these situations is yours, or what to ask your pension fund for an S1? Moovy can lay out the documents for your country, draft the request in clear English and keep a checklist for the first months. Moovy cannot decide your right to stay, so for the visa question, speak to a regulated adviser.
How much is the UK State Pension?
If you have worked in the UK, you may build a UK State Pension. GOV.UK shows the full new State Pension at £241.30 a week. You need at least 10 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits to receive anything and, if your National Insurance record started after April 2016, 35 years for the full rate.
Years paid into the state pension of an EEA country or Switzerland can help you reach the ten-year minimum, but the amount you are paid is based only on the qualifying years in your UK record. The State Pension age is 66 and is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, depending on your date of birth; the later rise to 68 is under review. Use the GOV.UK tool with your exact birth date. The pension is not paid automatically: you have to claim it, and you can do so by phone in the four months before you reach State Pension age.
Use the "Check your State Pension forecast" service early. Each year of contributions for a British employee also counts; see National Insurance number: how to apply.
How is a foreign pension taxed in the UK?
Once you are a UK tax resident, you generally have to declare your foreign pensions, and the tax treaty between the UK and your country decides who may tax what. Depending on the treaty and the type of pension, some stay taxable in the paying country and others are taxed in the UK; an exemption abroad can be claimed with a certificate of residence from HMRC, which you can apply for online.
For your first four years, the foreign income and gains regime can relieve most foreign pension income if you were not UK resident for the ten years before, but it costs you the tax-free allowances, including the Personal Allowance. In Scotland, the Scottish income tax bands apply to pensions, from 19% to 48% above the Personal Allowance. Calculate before claiming; see income tax in the UK for new residents.
Before you decide, have the pension fund that pays you, or a qualified adviser, confirm how your pension will be paid and taxed once you live in the UK.
What else should you check when retiring in the UK?
Think housing, health and money together. For housing, tenancies are the safer way to start; see renting in the UK. For money, keep a home bank account while you set up a UK one; see bank account in the UK. For care, ask your GP and your local council about what exists and who pays, since social care is handled separately from the NHS and means-tested.
How should you plan your first year as a retiree?
If you are in one of the situations that allow you to stay, treat the first year like a careful start rather than a holiday. Spend the first months in rented housing and learn the area before you buy; see buying property in the UK as a foreigner if you do want to own. Register with a GP and ask the surgery about routine checks for people your age, such as vaccinations and screening. Set up a UK bank account so that a pension payment, a council tax direct debit and a utility bill all have a home.
Bring your paperwork in order: pension statements, your S1, a certificate of residence from your home tax office if you need one, and your eVisa details. Keep copies in the cloud and in a folder at home, because a lost document is slow to replace from abroad. Keep one eye on the budget. Your pension may be paid in euros or Swiss francs, so the exchange rate will move your income with the pound. Council tax, energy and heating can be higher than expected in older, poorly insulated homes. Check the council tax discounts you may be entitled to: if you live alone as an adult, you get 25% off your bill.
What if the UK is not an option for you?
Some readers will finish this article and find that the legal route does not exist for them. That is not a failure: it is a reason to compare other countries early, since many EU states have residence routes for retirees with stable income and health cover. Those routes have their own tax rules, healthcare access and costs, so check the official pages of each destination before deciding. If your heart is set on Britain, a long holiday can help you test the place: an ETA lets you visit for up to six months, and a visitor must not make the UK their main home.
Finally, a word on timing. Rules about settlement and about State Pension age have been under review, and both can change before you act. Re-check the GOV.UK pages in the month you plan to apply, and ask a regulated adviser when your case is not obvious, and keep a written record of the version you relied on, with the date you read it.
Which mistakes should you avoid when retiring in the UK?
- Assuming a good pension is a visa. It is not.
- Skipping the S1 registration. The paper has no effect until the NHS registers it.
- Choosing a country at random. If the UK is closed to you, other EU countries have their own residence rules; check the official pages of the destination.
- Forgetting taxes at both ends. The treaty matters, so keep every certificate.
- Waiting for pension age to ask. The State Pension is not paid automatically: claim it in the four months before.