# What pension have I earned abroad?

> What each country you worked in still owes you — and how to claim it.

URL: https://allproblemssolved.aplusz.app/en/pension-you-are-owed/  
Language: English (en)

## The problem

People who work in more than one country leave pension rights in each, and most never claim them.

Who it hits: Anyone who worked abroad.

### The shapes it takes

- Minimum years per country (UK 10, US 40 credits, Japan 10, Germany 5, Spain 15, Italy 20, France none)
- Adding years: EU/EEA/Swiss rules, the UK–EU agreement, US agreements
- Pension age by birth year
- Refunds and lump sums for people who leave (Japan, Germany, Philippines)
- UK voluntary contributions from abroad after April 2026
- Frozen UK pensions abroad
- Tracing workplace pensions
- Survivor pensions and pension scams

### What this page gives you

What each country you worked in owes you, and how to claim it.

## Every country's pension rules on this page

Your years and birth year stay on this device.

### United Kingdom

- Minimum: 10 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years
- Apply up to 4 months before
- Your National Insurance record decides the amount — get your forecast online. From 6 April 2026, people abroad can pay only voluntary Class 3 contributions (£18.40 a week in 2026–27), and only with 10 years of UK residence or 10 qualifying years.
- Pension office: https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre
- Tracing: https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details

### United States

- Minimum: 40 credits — about 10 years of work
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years
- Apply up to 4 months before
- Social Security pays abroad in most countries; apply online or through the US embassy's Federal Benefits Unit.
- Pension office: https://www.ssa.gov/international/
- Tracing: https://lostandfound.dol.gov

### France

- Minimum: no minimum
- Pension age (born 1970): 64 years
- Apply up to 6 months before
- Every quarter you worked counts; you get a full-rate pension automatically at 67 even with missing quarters (the amount is still in proportion).
- Pension office: https://www.lassuranceretraite.fr
- Tracing: https://www.info-retraite.fr

### Germany

- Minimum: 5 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years
- Apply up to 3 months before
- Left Germany with under 5 years? Citizens of countries outside the EU who live outside the EU can ask for their own contributions back after 24 months.
- Pension office: https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de
- Tracing: https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de

### Spain

- Minimum: 15 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years — 65 with 38 years 6 months of contributions; otherwise 67 (slightly lower for people reaching it before 2027).
- Apply up to 3 months before
- At least 15 years, 2 of them in the last 15.
- Pension office: https://www.seg-social.es

### Italy

- Minimum: 20 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years — 67 — check INPS for the changes planned from 2027.
- At least 20 years of contributions.
- Pension office: https://www.inps.it

### Portugal

- Minimum: 15 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 66 years 9 months — Linked to life expectancy: about 66 years 9 months in 2026.
- At least 15 years with contributions.
- Pension office: https://www.seg-social.pt

### Greece

- Minimum: 15 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years — 67, or 62 with 40 years of work.
- At least 15 years (4,500 days of insurance).
- Pension office: https://www.efka.gov.gr

### Japan

- Minimum: 10 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 65 years
- Apply up to 3 months before
- Leaving Japan with between 6 months and under 10 years paid? Foreigners can claim a lump-sum refund within 2 years of leaving (it covers up to 5 years, about 20% is withheld) — but those years are then wiped from your record.
- Pension office: https://www.nenkin.go.jp

### South Korea

- Minimum: 10 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 65 years
- Foreigners from some countries can claim a lump-sum refund when they leave — ask the National Pension Service.
- Pension office: https://www.nps.or.kr

### Philippines

- Minimum: 10 years of monthly contributions
- Pension age (born 1970): 65 years — 60 if you've stopped working, otherwise 65.
- Under 120 monthly contributions, the SSS pays back your contributions with interest as a lump sum instead of a pension. You can keep paying voluntarily from abroad.
- Pension office: https://www.sss.gov.ph

### Thailand

- Minimum: 15 years of monthly contributions
- Pension age (born 1970): 55 years
- Under 180 months of contributions, the Social Security Office pays a lump sum instead of a pension.
- Pension office: https://www.sso.go.th

### Australia

- Minimum: 10 years of residence
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years
- Apply up to 3 months before
- The Age Pension depends on residence (10 years, 5 of them in one stretch) and is means-tested; your super is separate — search for lost super through the tax office.
- Pension office: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au
- Tracing: https://www.ato.gov.au

### Canada

- Minimum: no minimum
- Pension age (born 1970): 65 years — CPP from 60 to 70 (65 standard); Old Age Security from 65.
- Apply up to 12 months before
- CPP: any contributions count. Old Age Security: 10 years of residence after 18 (20 years to receive it while living abroad).
- Pension office: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions.html

### New Zealand

- Minimum: 10 years of residence
- Pension age (born 1970): 65 years — NZ Super from 65.
- The residence requirement is rising gradually from 10 to 20 years for people turning 65 from July 2024.
- Pension office: https://www.workandincome.govt.nz

### Mexico

- Minimum: 875 contribution weeks in 2026 (rising 25 a year to 1,000) — about 17 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 65 years
- The weeks required rise by 25 each year until 2031.
- Pension office: https://www.imss.gob.mx

### Brazil

- Minimum: 15 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 65 years — 65 for men, 62 for women.
- At least 15 years of contributions to the INSS (20 for men who started contributing after November 2019).
- Pension office: https://www.gov.br/inss

### China

- Minimum: 15 years
- Pension age (born 1970): 60 years — Retirement ages are rising gradually since 2025 — check the local social security office.
- 15 years of contributions for a monthly pension; foreigners who leave can ask for their personal account balance.
- Pension office: https://www.mohrss.gov.cn

### Singapore

- Minimum: no minimum
- Only citizens and permanent residents pay into CPF; foreign employees don't build a state pension here.
- Pension office: https://www.cpf.gov.sg

### United Arab Emirates

- Minimum: no minimum
- State pensions are for UAE and Gulf citizens; foreign employees receive an end-of-service gratuity from the employer instead.
- Pension office: https://gpssa.gov.ae

### Netherlands

- Minimum: no minimum
- Pension age (born 1970): 67 years 3 months — The AOW age follows life expectancy (67 and 3 months from 2028).
- The AOW builds 2% for each year you lived or worked in the Netherlands during the 50 years before your pension age.
- Pension office: https://www.svb.nl
- Tracing: https://www.mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl

## Adding years across countries

- EU, EEA and Swiss rules add up your years in all of them — and the UK–EU agreement adds UK and EU years together. (https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=849)
- US agreements add years across the two countries. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Uruguay (https://secure.ssa.gov/POMS.NSF/lnx/0201701005)
- Philippines (SSS) agreements confirmed with: Germany, Japan, Switzerland

## UK estimate

Full new State Pension from 6 April 2026: £241.3 a week. Estimate: qualifying years ÷ 35 × the full rate (from 10 years).

## How to claim from abroad

- Living in the EU, EEA or Switzerland? One application in your country of residence covers every EU/EEA country you worked in.
- Otherwise, apply to each country's pension office directly — most accept claims from abroad, several months before pension age.

## Watch out

- “Pension release” offers of cash before pension age — they usually mean heavy tax charges and fees.
- Cold calls or ads urging you to move your pension offshore — use only regulated advisers.
- Anyone asking for a fee to “find” your state pension — the pension offices and tracing services are free.

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