Can you draw two state pensions? One from UK AND one from FRANCE?

Arh well, what you haven’t had you dont miss!
Still very happy to see my French pension appear in my account each month, and my UK pension every 4 weeks.

It’s still a no-brainer if the lower pension at 62 is only around 10% less - it would take decades at the full rate to get back what you could have had between the ages of 62 and 67, so unless you think you might live to a 100 or so you should take the early option!

what can I say… think hard and make your decisions…

My younger brother had the chance… and finally decided to take early retirement… and I’m so very glad he did.
He was in full health and it enabled him to have the time of his life .
He died at age 65…

Sorry to hear about your brother, Stella, that’s really sad. In my case if I took my French State Pension at the age of 62 yrs 7 mths I would receive 270€ per annum. However, by leaving it until I am 66 yrs 7 mths I will receive 1072€ per annum. I’m almost there :crossed_fingers:t2:.

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sounds great… and us girls have a longer life expectancy, anyway…

You’ve thought things through… and made your decision.

Brother asked my opinion… and I simply asked him if he still looked forward to going to work each day… :thinking:
His reply was a vehement NO… and the rest is history… all worked out for the best in his case as he persuaded his pension folk to pay him full pension… (that’s my brother… always making money)

There’s another thread looking at the extra pension women receive for children…

Also interesting that you applied for your French pension at 62 via the UK DWP - and I assume subsequently for your UK pension there - but others seems to have applied to CARSAT in France (and separately to DWP?).

I thought one had to apply to both places ?

The rules are that you apply to the pension organisation in the country where you last worked & as I was living in the UK I applied to the DWP. This ensured that my UK contributions were transmitted to CARSAT along with my request to draw my pension. After the application had been passed on all my dealings afterwards were direct with CARSAT.

DWP are happy for you to claim directly when you reach pension age wherever you are living which is probably simpler as contributions in France or elsewhere won’t make any difference to your UK pension except if you have less than 10 years of contributions.

I have seen reports of people who have recently claimed their UK pension with an EU address being automatically sent an S1.

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The rules are that you apply to the pension organisation in the country where you last worked but once the application has been submitted you deal with each pension organisation separately.

This is our current situation and what we hope to have by retirement -

ME - 30 qualifying years UK, 13 years of trimestres France

OH - 17 qualifying years UK, 9 years of trimestres France

Retirement

ME - 35 qualifying years UK, 16/17 years of trimestres France

OH - 25 qualifying years UK, 13/14 years of trimestres France

Caveats - we’re not exactly sure how many additional qualifying years you can buy in the UK so my wife’s total might be less and her total trimestres may differ depending on when we stop work.

How old is your wife? What does her pension forecast say? What does yours say come to that as it all depends as you may be entitled to a full UK pension with 35 years or you may need more or even less.

My wife is only 51, we’ve not done a pension forecast recently but did receive a letter a few years back stating that she has 17 qualifying years. The current forecast for me is £155.42 per week and I need another four qualifying years to get up to the current maximum of £175.20.

Then she should be able to purchase 15-16 years going forward & will also need to purchase 2-3 previous years to get to 35 years for £175/week. With luck she will be entitled tp purchase Class 2 NI contributions at around £150 for each added year instead of Class 3 NI contributions at about £800 per added year. Each purchased year buys a pension of about £5/week for the rest of your life ie about £250/year. As average life expectancy at pension age is around 20 years that means you get about £5000 for an outlay of £150 (or £800 if you don’t qualify to pay Class 2). In any case Class 2 or Class 3 it’s a no-brainer to purchase added years to maximise your pension.

Details of rules on Class 2 vs Class 3 etc in HMRC leaflet NI38 “Social Security abroad”
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832814/NI38.pdf

Well, I thought I had my head round our situation (all my contributions in the UK so I would get a UK pension at 66; wife with 10 years contributions in France so she would transfer her UK entitlement to France and get a French pension after age 62 - sorted…) BUT then today a letter arrives saying I will get a French pension.

It’s tiny - 15€ a month - and I’m not sure how or why I have it (I have never been employed in France) - but raises the question of whether I can count my UK entitlement in France and achieve a full pension here? This would have obvious advantages - for example avoiding the vagaries of the exchange rate.
Any advice?

Look into what it does to your entitlement to an S1?

Does that matter for me Jane? - I and my family have been in the French health system for the last 8 years or so, by virtue of the fact that my wife runs a business and pays social contributions here.

I’m currently looking into the possibility of amalgamating UK NI qualifying years and French state pension trimestres to get a full pension here at the age of 60 which is possible with the ‘regime’ I’m under in France but failing that I expect to get a partial French pension at 62 and then the full UK pension at 67.

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My MIL left France for the UK at 32 when she married my FIL. She has a pension paid here (actually I think it is 2 small ones) and then a larger UK one.

Sounds … complicated