Hello Figtree and welcome to the Forum!

I have lived in Cyprus for 6 years and still retain a property in the UK which we have let out. I had to pay GESY contributions based on my government pension income AND my gross rental income. I assume that having worked in Cyprus, you are already entitled to GESY based on your social insurance contributions? Clearly, the S1 will not affect your entitlement, nor will it be affected by your small Cyprus pension, but it will certainly be a great asset to have.

I will receive UK State pension in October this year and applied by phone. The confirmation letter I received from the Newcastle Pensions Centre stated how much pension I will receive and also said that they had informed the Overseas Healthcare Services at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). This is the agency I need to contact to get my S1, but I can only do this within 1 month of the start of my State pension. The S1 will give me access to the GESY system and exempt me from any form of GESY contributions as the U.K. will effectively pay for any healthcare my wife and I will receive here. This shouldn’t change after the transition period 31 Dec 20) as my letter links my entitlement to the U.K. being a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) rather than the European Union (EU) which, as you know we have effectively left.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-in-cyprus

 

Hello David and Letitia,

Thank you for answering my query it has been very helpful.
I had read the guidance on the U.K.gov site (and a lot of other information too) but it didn’t say anything about if we claimed a Cyprus pension what would happen. You say that the S1 would mean I would not need to pay Gesy on my rental income or my pensions once I have retired which is great news.
I still not sure why Someone said claiming the cyprus pension would affect/negate the S1.

Thank you for your help it is ver much appreciated

Kind regards
Nic

 

When we moved from Cyprus to France we had to get new S1s. As my husband has a small pension from Cyprus he had to jump through a few hoops to get it as he had to prove which country he had paid the most tax and national insurance in. He did get it eventually but there was a delay due to constantly having to furnish more proof etc.

 

Hi. Veronica, thank you for your information your husband must have jumped through a lot of hoops.
I was told yesterday by an accountant who also offered other services said that with a U.K. pension and Cyprus pension I would definitely get an S1 from the U.K.

I am now going to speak to the U.K. office NHSBSA that David and Letitia mentioned. I haven’t spoke to anyone in that department yet.

Thank you
Nic

 

Yes officially that is the case but you know what these government departments can be like. It took a lot of phone calls until he eventually got to talk to someone who actually knew what they were doing and sorted it out for him. If you have any problems you just have to persevere. As for the Cyprus pension our Cypriot accountant had fight for him to get that, even going to the main pensions office in Nicosia to sort it out. If they can avoid paying you what is due to you they will. Thankfully it got sorted and to date he has received far more in pensions from Cyprus that he ever paid in social. Thank goodness for a good accountant.