Everything about calling DWP Pension Centre from abroad
Which DWP pension line is which
The Pension Service is the part of the Department for Work and Pensions that handles State Pension and Pension Credit. GOV.UK gives its line as 0800 731 0469, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, except public holidays. The Future Pension Centre, on 0800 731 0175, answers questions about your State Pension before you reach pension age and gives State Pension forecasts; GOV.UK lists the same number for the Pension Tracing Service, open 10am to 3pm on weekdays. People who live abroad, rather than travel, have their own office: GOV.UK sends them to the International Pension Centre, which gives advice about pensions and benefits to people who live abroad, or have lived abroad.
Why a UK 0800 number fails from abroad
0800 731 0469 and 0800 731 0175 are UK freephone numbers. GOV.UK lists 0800 calls as free from UK landlines and mobiles, but that only holds on UK networks, and GOV.UK itself tells callers to check costs with their provider, particularly from abroad. Dialled as +44 800 from a foreign phone, the number often meets a refusal or a message saying it cannot be reached, and where it connects, the foreign operator sets the price.
What Losali does with these lines
Losali is an independent dialler that works in a web browser. Your call travels over the internet and Losali's telecom carrier connects the call to 0800 731 0469 or 0800 731 0175. The foreign network you are on never sees the UK number, so a freephone line it would refuse is no longer its business. There is no app to install and no UK SIM card to buy. Minutes are prepaid, there is no subscription, and the rate for each number is shown beside it before you call.
If you live abroad: the International Pension Centre
The Pension Service's own contact page tells anyone who lives abroad to contact the International Pension Centre (IPC) instead. The IPC takes State Pension claims from overseas, records changes to your address or bank details, and handles a list of benefits paid abroad, from Bereavement Support Payment to Employment and Support Allowance and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. For callers abroad, GOV.UK gives the IPC's State Pension line in its international form, +44 (0) 191 218 7777, an ordinary UK number your own provider can dial at its international rate. You can also ask the IPC for a call back to reduce the cost of calling from abroad, and interpreter services are available.
- Your National Insurance number, and any reference from a DWP letter.
- The date of the payment you are chasing, or the letter you were sent.
- For a forecast, the Future Pension Centre line rather than the Pension Service line.
- Both lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Payments, changes of details, life certificates
For State Pension paid abroad, GOV.UK says changes such as a new address or bank details must be reported to the IPC by phone or in writing, and not sent by email. Your State Pension can be paid into a bank in the country you live in, or into a UK bank or building society, every 4 or 13 weeks, with a 0.39% conversion charge on payments converted into local currency. A payment due in the same week as a US federal holiday can arrive a day late, because a US company processes these payments. If the DWP sends you a life certificate, it must be signed by a witness and returned, or your payments may be suspended.
Claiming, forecasts and yearly increases
You can claim your State Pension from abroad once you are within 4 months of State Pension age, either by contacting the IPC or by sending it the international claim form. If you need to know how much you might get first, GOV.UK points to a State Pension forecast, which is what the Future Pension Centre's 0800 731 0175 is for. Living abroad also changes what the pension does over time: it only rises each year if you live in the European Economic Area, Gibraltar, Switzerland, or a country with a social security agreement with the UK, and even then not in Canada or New Zealand.
Other ways in
The IPC takes enquiries through an online enquiry form, though GOV.UK warns that it is taking longer than usual to reply, and post goes to The Pension Service 11, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LW. Relay UK is listed for the Pension Service line, and Relay UK and a British Sign Language video relay service for the IPC's lines.
What kind of number is this?
Freephone 0800 / 0808. Free to call from inside the UK. Losali shows the price before the call starts.