All the online references say 35 years; the Gov.Uk site of course says “it depends”. 
You do get credit for periods of unemployment, illness, or time spent as a carer, or if you were working abroad and paid into another state pension system there. But I think for most people it is 35 years of contributions or credits.
That’s the thing, Chris. I’m pretty sure that if I move back and when the time comes apply for a pension, all the years I’ve been contributing in France will be taken into account towards my eligibility for a UK pension. Which is wy I’m wondering if I need to make voluntary NI contributions, and how much they would be worth.
Currently on hold with HMRC who are trying to join up my UTR in my married name and my NI number in my maiden name…
I have been contributing here for 29 years, will be here for another 3 at least (unless I will the Euromillions tonight!), and will work back in the UK until I can afford to stop, so I will almost definitely have paid in (albeit across the two systems) for the full 35 years, and then some.
Just found this forum which seems interesting . Hope it’s OK to post the link.
https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/ni/80e58364-ced5-ed11-9ac4-00155d9771aa
If you were claiming UK child benefit during that time, it will count towards your state pension until you claimed french allocation familiale if it applies/ed to you personally.
Hi Shiba,
Thanks for the info, but I haven’t claimed anything since 1996, when I claimed income support just after graduating before starting my summer job. I think I’m not going to be eligible to make voluntary contributions because I hadn’t worked for long enough before leaving the UK.
Also, the three years’ residency in the UK before leaving might be tricky as I spent a year in France from 94-95 before finally moving here in 96.
Is there anyone here in my situation? Only ever done summer jobs as a student in the UK (and I have pay slips proving that I did pay some NI), then spending their whole working life in France, paying into the French system, before moving back to the UK and working the last 10-15 years there before drawing a pension? Long shot…
If you do that you will be eligible for some sort of UK State Pension (the minimum qualifying period is 10 years’ contributions); presumably with your French State Pension it should come out to the same amount (or better!) than if you had spent your entire working life in the UK?
But we probably can’t answer that for you definitively, you need to get the specific information from the authorities about your own situation.
I did student jobs before full time employment in UK and these were taken into account towards my state pension, they sent a list of all the employment I had done since doing saturday jobs whilst still at school as NI was paid by the employers. The UK side had no bearing at all on what I was given pension for here in France and vice-versa.
Each country is going to have its own rules regarding retirement ages etc. The UK - in future probably at the age of 67 - will then do two calculations.
One is on a ‘stand alone’ basis to see if you’ve paid or been credited with enough years to qualify for a UK pension (the key is 10 years) or not. They then do another calculation to see if by including years contributed eg in France, you reach the magic number of 10 years. Whichever calculation gives you the higher UK pension, that is what you’ll benefit from. You would then get a pro rata UK pension for your UK years worked. Other countries in the EU perform similar calculations.
Rather than start a new thread, and I hope that @Thursdayschild will understand, I have a slightly different pension question.
Some months after my wife died last year I received a request from Newcastle to supply them with a signed and witnessed copy of my marriage certificate ‘because I might be entitled to an increased (ie widowers’) pension’. The signature of the Notaire cost €30 and I duly sent it off. A few weeks later I received an acknowledgement of it.
Nothing more but today I got a letter about general pension increases and a leaflet entitled, in part, Bereavement Benefits. But it seems to be more about letting them know if a recipient begins living with another partner, rather than any conditions needed for getting it.
Just wondered if anyone knows anything of this, before I start trying to contact them.
No personal experience, but there is some relevant info here:
It seems you can claim bereavement Benefit even if not living in the UK.
Hi, if you had 3 years of summer jobs wouldn’t that count for your three years in the UK ?- also a summer job as a student could generate enough NI payments to count as a full year. You need to check your contributions record - I think you were contacting HMRC but it will actually be National Insurance?
You could call the pensions future helpline to check.
There’s also a form.
I also found this online form to apply to make contributions from abroad.
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-pay-ni-contributions-abroad/start/about-this-form
Yes, even at class 3 payback is 3.5 years so live that long after claiming and you’ve got your money back (excluding any lost interest).
If you can pay class 2 - it’s a no brainer. Money back in 6 months. Check out Martin Lewis’s guide on the money saving expert guide.
Bon chance!
Thanks @ChrisMann, seems I don’t qualify then as you have to be under state pension age. Wish they told me that when they asked for the signature that cost me €30 though. 
Looking on the bright side though, it might keep me below the level of paying tax in France. Seems a bit unfair though as I might still have to pay simply because I am now living alone. 
The same thing is happening here with the pension de reversion that I get. New stricter criteria and questions coming in this year especially for people who are widowed but are co-habiting or even remarrying without telling the pension people.
Yes I got a one-off payment back in 2012 and any widows benefits now get included automatically with my state pension payments and marked as thus however as OH was self employed, they are not as much as if had been ordinarily employed as he paid lower NI charges. The UK said I was entitled when I contacted them to let them know OH had died and would not be collecting any pensions in ten years from then, I never applied for bereavement benefit until they mentioned it.
Were you under pension age at that point, sorry, bit of a leading question. 
Yes, just 55 and luckily the age when the pension de reversion begins as you can’t claim it before that age.
That explains the difference between our 2 entitlements then.
I understood that back dated voluntary contributions can only be made up to 8 years back. I am a French resident during all those 8 years so I have nothing to top up for those years. But I have some uncompleted years in previous years that I’d like to complete voluntarily, but if I’ve understood correctly, it isn’t possible ??
I’ve been tax resident in France for 20 years.
When I did my topping up last July (2024) it was only possible for the 2016 tax year onwards. I only needed 5 years to get to the 35 needed for a full UK pension.
The whole point is that you can pay for those UK empty years, or to complete partial years.
You need to download, complete & return a CF83 (see posts above 
) before 05/04/2025 i.e. do it now!