Overseas – continuing to pay contributions to a registered pension scheme after leaving the UK

When someone moves overseas, they can still pay tax relievable contributions of up to £3,600 a year (gross) for up to five tax years after the tax year they left the UK. The contributions must be to a plan they were a member of before they left the UK.

In this case study we look at how this works in practice.

Case study

Christine earns £3,500 a month payable on the first of every month (in arrears) and pays a gross pension contribution of £400 a month to a personal pension plan.

On 2 August 2023 she leaves the UK to live and work in France. Her UK earnings for 2023/24 are therefore £14,000 (four months at £3,500 a month) and she can continue to pay £400 a month until the end of the tax year and receive tax relief.   

For the next five tax years, that is from 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2029, the maximum gross tax-relievable contribution she’ll be able to make is £300 a month (£3,600 a year).  From 6 April 2029 she will not be entitled to tax relief on any contributions she makes to a UK registered pension scheme.

If she had left on 2 May 2023, she would only have earnings of £3,500 in 2023/24 and so could only pay £400 a month for a total of nine months in 2023/24 as £3,600 would be the maximum amount of contributions she could pay with tax relief.