The UK State Pension and US Social Security: how Brits in New York get both
Retire in New York and your UK State Pension keeps going up every April, and the years you worked in each country can help you qualify in the other.
The short version
- The USA is on DWP's list of countries where the UK State Pension gets the annual increase, unlike Australia or Canada [1][2].
- The UK–US social security agreement stops you paying into both systems at once and lets short records in one country be topped up with years from the other [3][4].
- US Social Security needs 40 credits; in 2026 one credit takes US$1,890 of earnings, and you can earn at most four a year [5].
- The Windfall Elimination Provision, which used to cut US benefits for people with a foreign pension, was repealed from January 2024 payments onwards [6].
- You claim each pension from each country, but one application can start both [3].
Why the US is the good side of the pension map
Most Brits who retire far from home end up with a frozen State Pension. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa all miss out on the yearly rise. The USA doesn't. It's on DWP's official list of countries where the annual increase is paid, because the social security agreement between the two countries covers it [2].
So a Brit who retires to the Upper West Side, or follows the grandchildren to Westchester, gets the same April increase as a neighbour who stayed in Basingstoke. Our guide to the UK State Pension abroad has the full list of frozen and uprated countries.
| Full weekly rate | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| New State Pension | £230.25 | £241.30 |
| Basic State Pension (Category A or B) | £176.45 | £184.90 |
Source: DWP benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 [7]. Those rates apply in the US, rising each April like they do back home.
How the UK–US social security agreement works
The agreement was signed in 1984 and has been in force since 1 January 1985, with the benefit rules added from 1 January 1988 [4]. It does two jobs.
1. You pay into one system, not both
If your UK employer sends you to its New York office, you normally stay in UK National Insurance and don't pay US Social Security tax, as long as the posting isn't expected to last more than five years [4]. To prove it, your employer asks HMRC for a certificate of coverage. HMRC handles requests going this way, not the Social Security Administration (SSA), and US employers keep the certificate in case the IRS asks [3]. Our guide to working abroad for a UK employer covers the paperwork.
Hired locally in New York? Then you pay US Social Security like everyone else, and nothing goes into your UK record. The self-employed are covered where they live, so a freelancer living in Brooklyn pays US self-employment tax [3].
2. Short records can be added together
This is called totalisation. It only matters if you don't qualify in one country on your own record:
- For US Social Security, UK years can count only if you already have at least six US credits, roughly a year and a half of work. If you've got the full 40 US credits, the UK years aren't needed and aren't used [3].
- For the UK basic State Pension, US years can count if you have at least one year of UK coverage [3].
- Each country then pays a partial pension based on its own share of your working life. You don't get a bigger UK pension because you worked in the US, and vice versa.
For the new State Pension, the main rules are still UK rules: usually 35 qualifying years for the full amount and at least some qualifying years to get anything [1]. If you're short, check your forecast on GOV.UK before you lean on the agreement.
Filling UK gaps from New York
Every year you spend in the US on a local payroll is a year that doesn't count towards your UK State Pension. For many people the cheapest fix is voluntary Class 3 National Insurance. It costs £18.40 a week in 2026/27, and since 6 April 2026 you generally need 10 years of UK residence or contributions behind you to pay it from abroad. Cheap Class 2 for time abroad has gone, apart from narrow exceptions. Our guide to voluntary National Insurance from abroad has the detail and the CF83 form.
Is it worth paying both? A full year of Class 3 adds roughly 1/35 of the full new State Pension for life, and because the US is an uprated country, that slice rises every year too. It's one of the few no-brainers in pension planning, but check your forecast first: some years may already be full.
Earning your US Social Security
US Social Security works on credits, not years. In 2026 you earn one credit for every US$1,890 of covered earnings (about £1,400), up to four credits a year, so US$7,560 (about £5,610) gets you the full four [5]. You need 40 credits for a retirement benefit, which is roughly ten years of work [5]. Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = USD 1.3476).
How much you get depends on your 35 highest-earning years in the US. Years with nothing in them count as zeros, which is why a Brit who arrives at 40 usually gets a smaller cheque than an American with a full career. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, and you can start from 62 with a permanent reduction. Set up a "my Social Security" account on ssa.gov to see your record; you'll need your Social Security number, which our guide to getting an SSN and building US credit explains.
The windfall rule has gone
Older forum threads warn that a UK pension will slash your US benefit. That was the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and the Government Pension Offset for spouses. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on 5 January 2025, ended both. They no longer apply to benefits payable for January 2024 and later, and the SSA says the change helps people whose work was covered by a foreign social security system [6]. If you were cut before, the SSA has been making back payments since early 2025.
Claiming both pensions
You claim each pension separately, but the agreement lets one application do double duty [3].
- Check both records a year or two before retirement: your UK forecast on GOV.UK and your US statement in "my Social Security".
- For the UK State Pension, contact the International Pension Centre within four months of your State Pension age, or download the international claim form [1]. Have your National Insurance number and US bank details ready.
- Or start both at an SSA office. If you live in the US, you can visit or write to any SSA office, or call 1-800-772-1213, and ask for the claim to cover UK benefits too. The SSA uses form SSA-2490-BK for this [3].
- Bring the documents: both your US Social Security number and your UK National Insurance number, proof of age, your US earnings for the last 24 months and details of your UK coverage [3].
- Choose where the UK money goes. DWP pays into a UK or US account, every 4 or 13 weeks, and converts to dollars with a small charge if you choose a US account [1].
Moving back to Blighty later? Your US Social Security can follow you; you'd then deal with the Federal Benefits Unit at the US Embassy in London [3].
Tax on both pensions
Under the UK–US double taxation convention, in force since 2003 [8], social security pensions are broadly taxed where you live. In practice a US resident's UK State Pension is reported on the US return rather than taxed by HMRC, and US Social Security paid to someone living in the UK is taxed in the UK. The fine print matters, especially for dual nationals, who also file US returns wherever they live. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case.
Our guides to US taxes for Brits and double taxation agreements and reliefs go further. If your partner is American, our sister site ExpatStateside explains Social Security abroad and its restrictions, useful if you might retire to the UK together.
Workplace and private UK pensions follow different rules from the State Pension. Transfers to the US need regulated financial advice, and the FCA and MoneyHelper both warn about pension scams aimed at people abroad. If you'd like to compare notes with other retirees, our community group for Brits in the US is a friendly place to ask.
Sources
- GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad
- GOV.UK (DWP): Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension
- SSA: the US–UK social security agreement
- SSA: Agreement text, United Kingdom
- SSA: How you earn credits
- SSA: Social Security Fairness Act – WEP and GPO
- GOV.UK (DWP): Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027
- GOV.UK (HMRC): USA tax treaties