[Jill & Ken Willes]



I’ve been researching what happen to frozen pensions if I leave Australia and travel to UK for either a holiday or relocate for a couple of years

I asked ChatGPT to search the current rules.   I know it doesn’t always get things correct but the information provided (especially about short term holidays) is not what I expected   Can anyone confirm the accuracy or otherwise if the information  

Thank you

Ken Willes

                  ……..00000…..

Here’s how the UK State Pension rules work in practice (and they’re a bit counter-intuitive):

While you live in Australia

• Your UK State Pension is “frozen”.
• It stays at the rate it was when you first started receiving it (or when you left the UK), with no annual indexation.

If you return to the UK (even temporarily)

• As soon as you are ordinarily resident in the UK, your pension is unfrozen.
• It is uplifted to the current UK rate, as if it had been indexed every year you were away.
• You also receive any future annual increases while you remain resident.

A short holiday does not usually count — it’s residence that matters, not just being physically present.

If you later leave the UK again (e.g. back to Australia)

• Your pension is frozen again.
• But it freezes at the higher rate you had when you left, not the old lower one.
• It does not decrease or reset.

So in your example

• You return to the UK and stay 2 years → pension rises to the current indexed level and increases again during those two years.
• You then return to Australia → pension stops increasing, but stays at that new, higher amount for life (unless rules change).

[JO ODDIE]

Hi Ken

When we went to Netherlands 3 years ago for a 90 day stay, our UK pensions were paid at the full rate that they would have been paid if we had retired & stayed in UK. This increase applied to the whole of our stay in Europe. 

Once we returned to Australia our UK pension reverted to the amount we were paid before our holiday in Europe. 

We are going to Netherlands again this year, so I will once again contact the International Pension Service to let them know my arrival & departure dates in Europe so my pension will be uprated for the time we are there. 

Of course, our Australian pension will be reduced as a result of our absence here.

I hope this is clear & helpful to you. 

Kind regards

Jo 

Sent from my iPhone

On 1 Feb 2026, at 20:05, 'Jill & Ken Willes' via BAPA <bapa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Marcus Wigan]

The upgrade to the current uk rate occurs even if you are in Uk for a few days (it’s usually worth telling them even for that) but reverts to your original frozen level as soon as you leave

I have no idea how long you would have to stay in Uk to trigger a higher rate to take back to Uk and keep and seek others to advise you

Marcus Wigan AM

Melbourne

[Gary Rees]

Hi,

Yes that’s correct, however you need to apply, it won’t happen automatically.

I always write a letter and post it a month before I arrive, once there I call them.

The staff are lovely and it normally works like clockwork.

When you leave it reverts.

Oh and you still get it even if you are in the EU for a month.

Cheers

Gary

Sent from my iPhone

On 1 Feb 2026, at 17:05, 'Jill & Ken Willes' via BAPA <bapa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



[Patricia Berry]

When I went back for 6 weeks in 2008 I got the higher rate while there but it reverted to the lower frozen rate when I came back.

Yahoo Mail: Search, organise, conquer

On Sun, 1 Feb 2026 at 8:05 pm, 'Jill & Ken Willes' via BAPA

<bapa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



I’ve been researching what happen to frozen pensions if I leave Australia and travel to UK for either a holiday or relocate for a couple of years

[Paul Moore]

idid the same two years ago.

I was in uk AND France, (you get full pension whist in France also) for a month only, but being bloody minded i claimed full pension for the period.

They were amazingly efficient and paid the small amount for that period. Then it reverted back after my return to Australia.

Its a ridiculous state of affairs and the justification for frozen pensions is still justified in the vaguest terms that make no sense.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bapanews/4639185A-CC3A-4A2B-A1E3-06B9D655D851%40aol.com.

[vivienne bentley walker]

When we go back to the UK for a holiday, we call the international uk pension number. They ask for entry and return date and an address in the UK and our pension is increased for the time we are there.

[bcbarber42]

Our experience is exactly the same as everyone above has said.  We went back to the UK and Germany a couple of years ago and are going again this year.  We are also going to Greece so we expect to get the uprating for the whole time we are there.  While the pension people were generally helpful there was one guy who was convinced we should only get the uprating while we were in the UK but we insisted and he checked with his supervisor and we were correct and got the up lift for the whole time.  Then of course it went back to the frozen rate when we came back to Australia.  

It's best to fill out the form before you go to Europe but not too long before.  You can get the form from the Government website but it takes a bit of searching.  British Pensioners in Australia BPiA have the form and if you contact them through their website they will provide the form and assist you through the process.  They helped us.

Good Luck and enjoy your trip

[Neil Hillman]

Dear BCBarber -

 

It would be helpful to others if you could provide the weblink to the form...

 

Thank you.

 

Neil.

On 01/02/2026 21:15 GMT bcbarber42 <bcbar...@gmail.com> wrote:

 

 

Our experience is exactly the same as everyone above has said. We went back to the UK and Germany a couple of years ago and are going again this year. We are also going to Greece so we expect to get the uprating for the whole time we are there. While the pension people were generally helpful there was one guy who was convinced we should only get the uprating while we were in the UK but we insisted and he checked with his supervisor and we were correct and got the up lift for the whole time. Then of course it went back to the frozen rate when we came back to Australia.

 

It's best to fill out the form before you go to Europe but not too long before. You can get the form from the Government website but it takes a bit of searching. British Pensioners in Australia BPiA have the form and if you contact them through their website they will provide the form and assist you through the process. They helped us.

 

Good Luck and enjoy your trip

 

On Monday, 2 February 2026 at 03:57:58 UTC+10 viviennebentleywalker wrote:

When we go back to the UK for a holiday, we call the international uk pension number. They ask for entry and return date and an address in the UK and our pension is increased for the time we are there.

 

 

 

On Sun, 1 Feb 2026, 5:05 pm 'Jill & Ken Willes' via BAPA, <bapa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I’ve been researching what happen to frozen pensions if I leave Australia and travel to UK for either a holiday or relocate for a couple of years

I asked ChatGPT to search the current rules. I know it doesn’t always get things correct but the information provided (especially about short term holidays) is not what I expected Can anyone confirm the accuracy or otherwise if the information

Thank you

Ken Willes

……..00000…..

Here’s how the UK State Pension rules work in practice (and they’re a bit counter-intuitive):

While you live in Australia

* Your UK State Pension is “frozen”.

* It stays at the rate it was when you first started receiving it (or when you left the UK), with no annual indexation.

If you return to the UK (even temporarily)

* As soon as you are ordinarily resident in the UK, your pension is unfrozen.

* It is uplifted to the current UK rate, as if it had been indexed every year you were away.

* You also receive any future annual increases while you remain resident.

A short holiday does not usually count— it’s residence that matters, not just being physically present.

 

If you later leave the UK again (e.g. back to Australia)

* Your pension is frozen again.

* But it freezes at the higher rate you had when you left, not the old lower one.

* It does not decrease or reset.

So in your example

* You return to the UK and stay 2 years → pension rises to the current indexed level and increases again during those two years.

* You then return to Australia → pension stops increasing, but stays at that new, higher amount for life (unless rules change).

 

 

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[Ian Jarratt]

I've successfully got my pension unfrozen several times while on holiday for various lengths of time in the UK  and other countries where unfreezing for short stays is allowed.

Each time, about a month before departure, I've just phoned the UK  international pensions centre and given them over the phone the dates I would be in the relevant countries. I last did this in May 2025. 

Have never had to fill in a form so far. 

Has the system changed recently?

 

 

Ian Jarratt 

 

 

Sent: Monday, February 02, 2026 at 2:26 PM
From: "Neil Hillman" <neil.h...@theaudiosuite.com>
To: bapa...@googlegroups.com, "bcbarber42" <bcbar...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [bapanews]

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bapanews/209191121.67872.1770006363298%40mailbusiness.ionos.co.uk.

[Michael Goodall]

Using the form can be a nightmare and take so much time up when a simple telephone call less than 4 weeks before you land in the UK and less than 4 weeks after you arrive in the UK (so just under an 8 weeks time allowance). Just call the IPC on 00 11 44 191 218 7777. They open at 7.00 pm AEST, 6.00 pm QLD time and at 4.00 pm WA time.

Best regards,

Mike Goodall

Tel:-     +61 8 6364 0859

Mob:- +61 403 909 865

We are a word of mouth referral business. We appreciate you recommending our services to people you know.

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From: 'Ian Jarratt' via BAPA <bapa...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 2 February 2026 1:14 PM
To: bapa...@googlegroups.com <bapa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [bapanews] unfreezing UK state pension when visiting UK and other approved countries

 

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[Steve Symmons]

I don’t think there is an official claim form. You simply advise DWP - ideally in advance - of the dates (including flight numbers) of your arrivals and departures. You can telephone the information. 

I keep an old phone with a Tesco pre-paid SIM card and a an unused 30-day use voucher ready for activation as soon as I land at Heathrow. Depending on the time, one of my first calls is to DWP informing them that I have arrived as per my earlier telephone conversation from Australia.

At some point you should receive an official form noting your dates of arrival and departure and the uplifted pension rate paid to you during that period.

The form is updated through each UK Financial Year (which means your Australian address may receive multiple different copies as a year progresses 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bapanews/209191121.67872.1770006363298%40mailbusiness.ionos.co.uk.