Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to help UK nationals access pensions which have been earned abroad.

The UK participates in EU regulations which allow a person to submit a single claim to pension in the EEA country where they last worked or the country of residence if it is different. That country will then coordinate with all the EEA countries where the claimant has a right to a pension so that each country can determine entitlement under its national legislation.

Respecting the right of other countries to determine their own pension rules, the UK has also entered into a number of bilateral social security agreements with countries outside the EEA which allow people to protect the pension entitlements they may have earned in each country.