[Joppa]

Hi

My partner is Spanish. She has an employment record of 30 years in Spain. She was then unemployed but now has 3 years of tax paying in the UK. I can imagine she will accumulate 4 years more in the UK.

I expect we will be resident in the UK when she retires but we can change that if required. The option of formal marriage remains open.

I imagine many immigrants must end up in this position (not the marriage bit but a split tax paying life ). Can anyone shed any light on what might happen regarding state pensions?

Any help most gratefully received. Cheers

Normally, what you pay in pension contribution earns entitlement in that country, so in your partner's case, she will receive a largish pension from Spain's social security office and much smaller amount from UK's. When it comes to retirement - each country sets its own state pension age (in UK it's 61 now for women but is going up to 65, and eventually to 67) - she needs to contact the pensions authority in each country to make a claim or find out how much she will be entitled to, and inquire how it can be paid.