Cypriot Pension paid to UK - is there anything else I can do?

[PhotoLady]

I refer back to this thread: viewtopic.php?t=1534
My last post on that was dated 23 August 2024 - it's the very last post on Page 3 of the thread I linked above...

The latest update I have received from the DWP (International branch in UK) was in early October.

It says something along the lines of:
you told us you lived or worked abroad and we have sent details about you to that country. They will tell you if you can get a pension from them, it may take "some time" and that I don't need to contact DWP as they cannot provide an update on a pension from another country....

Is there anyone else who has returned to UK before receiving their UK as well as their Cyprus Pension - ie, in the same position as me?

I worked from May/June 2004 in Cyprus paying my SI contributions in various positions, until I stopped at the end of March 2016 before returning to UK on a permanent basis in April 2016.

My official UK retirement came to fruition in September 2024 - I'm one of those ladies born at the wrong time so my pension was pushed back by a full 6 years by the UK Government.

I realise there will be a wait - nothing moves at speed in Cyprus as I learned very well.

But is there any way I can calculate approximately what I would be entitled to receive?
Basically, I have the majority of my SI contributions but left before I received the equivalent of the P60 for my final year as it hadn't been issued when I left.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading

[Kissos]

Hi

I think it might help you if you had a summary print out of all your social insurance contributions possibly by CAB emailed to you or when you visit. Then you can check exact number of points.

For a full Cyprus pension you need 15 points, it's not the number of years you paid in. On average though it's 1 point per year sometimes more or less. Full Cyprus pension is 411 euros about to increase this month.

I know the following is the opposite of what you are asking as you are based in the UK now, but I hope it gives you a guide or others to how it works.

If you lived here you would apply to the UK by phone separately 4 months before retirement date and to Cyprus 3 months before via the CAB or online. The SI office is much slower.

The pensions are paid separately. From DWP UK to any account but Cyprus tend to insist the one from here is into a Cyprus account only.

I live here (over 16 years) and cannot get a Cyprus pension as I have 12 points, not even a lower amount...

Normally they write to the UK when this is the case to see if any excess national insurance contributions can top it up here. This is when it takes the time. But I have 35 years in the UK so all needed for a full UK pension.

Cyprus now are paying pensions within 1 month of application since 2023 if they don't need to write to the UK. If they need to write to the UK it can take 12 months or more.

I do think your best starting point is the CAB or if not the Head of Social Insurance in Nicosia.

Best regards

[Maggie B]

Hi Photolady

My husband and I paid into the Social Insurance system in Cyprus from 2006 until 2012. We had a Limited Company at the time so we paid a hefty amount each month.

I turned 65 in March '24 and had submitted my application form to the International Pensions Department in good time. I hadn't heard anything from Nicosia for several months so I emailed Eupensions@sid.mlsi.gov.cy in October. Things moved very quickly after that.

They asked if I lived permanently in the UK and requested a scanned copy of my Birth Certificate which I duly returned along with a copy of our Marriage Certificate . . . .just for good measure. I received my first Cypriot pension payment early December backdated to March. I receive €113 per month but I think there is a 2.65% reduction. Once I got in touch directly with them the process was simplicity itself. When my husband retired in 2016 he had to jump through several hoops before he received his Cypriot pension so the system has improved immensely.

Thankfully, we kept our BoC account in Paphos after we returned to the UK because at the time they simply would not pay a pension into a Sterling account. I don't know what the situation is now?

Just this week I have requested an online code from the DWP to apply for my OAP in the UK. Like you, I am one of those ladies born at the wrong time!

Best of Luck. X

Maggie B

[WHL]

You can log into Government Gateway Portal (Ariadni)


Enter your details and you will see what pension you will recieve

[PhotoLady]

You can log into Government Gateway Portal (Ariadni)
Enter your details and you will see what pension you will recieve

Which "Government Gateway Portal" please - do you have a link to point me in the right direction?

Thank you!

[PhotoLady]

Hi Maggie B

I believe we were both on that original thread link from some time ago

It's really like pulling teeth, isn't it? And we know how difficult it is to find a dentist to do it these days in the UK!

I don't have all of my up to date paperwork, which is frustrating.

If I don't hear anything in the next few months and if I cannot find an alternative way to contact anyone to get some information - I shall be hopping on a plane and paying a visit to Cyprus.

It's long overdue but I really don't want to be having to visit for this reason.

[PhotoLady]

Sounds like I'm in a 50/50 position here then, from the responses I've received so far....

Wish me luck!

[WHL]

You can log into Government Gateway Portal (Ariadni)
Enter your details and you will see what pension you will recieve

Which "Government Gateway Portal" please - do you have a link to point me in the right direction?

Thank you!

https://www.gov.cy/

[PhotoLady]

Thank you!

I've found my original email, which is to the same email address as indicated by Maggie B, and I have an email sent to me from that address by the Social Insurance services back in May 2023.

I've chased it up today to see if they can give me any indication as to which stage my claim is at.

I have approximately 11 full years of payments, with perhaps a few additional months.

Hopefully, I will receive a response before the end of 2025

[Firefly]

Sad when you've paid into something, and it's hard to get what you're owed.

MOH was due repayment of income tax from Cyprus, to the sum of 400 Euro, when we came back to the UK, in spite of many letters sent recorded delivery to the tax office, he never did get it back.

[Maggie B]

Hi Maggie B

I don't have all of my up to date paperwork, which is frustrating.

Hi Photolady

I didn't need to produce any paperwork whatsoever (except a copy of my Birth Certificate). As long as you have your Social Insurance Number you should be fine.

Maggie B

[PhotoLady]

Hi Photolady

I didn't need to produce any paperwork whatsoever (except a copy of my Birth Certificate). As long as you have your Social Insurance Number you should be fine.

Maggie B

I could only apply for my Overseas Pension via the DWP International pension claim system (no more than 3 months before my official UK Pension date was due).

I then received a 4 or 5 page claim form which I had to complete regarding the country (or countries) where I had worked, dates of employment and a list of employers as well as providing my Cyprus SI number etc.

I did contact the Cyprus Pensions department using their online form as the website had undergone some changes not so long before my application was made.

I received a response back from Cyprus, to which they said:

Since you live now in UK, you can contact the social services in UK and ask them to send a claim for you for Cyprus pernsion. The will inform you further for what they will need from you in order to send the claim. You must make your application 3 months before the age of 65.

Of course that was totally incorrect, due to me being a WASPI woman and therefore having to wait until the age of 66 to receive my UK pension. Until then, the DWP International office based in Newcastle wouldn't touch my claim with a bargepole.

I have the SI number, but I would have also liked to have in my sight - the complete list of my contributions paid during my final year of working in Cyprus.

I started paying into my contributions after taking up employment with a Cypriot company initially in May 2004. Before that, I was being paid via my UK employer, but I left after just 4 weeks after starting in the overseas office in Limassol in March 2004.

For the remainder of the years - until the end of March 2016, I worked for mostly offshore companies, which provided me with a better salary than I previously earned in UK.

In UK, I added an additional 3 years to my NI contributions - initially, I had only been 1 year short of a full pension but of course, all that changed too before I reached pension age and coming under the NEW State Pension - lucky me

I did manage to download the Bilateral Agreement and there's a section here related to Old Age Pension and Widows Pensions, but I'm not entirely certain what that paragraph I've highlighted in bold is actually trying to convey.

Old age pension and widow’s pension

When an employed person insured under both, the Cyprus Social Insurance Scheme and the Social Insurance Scheme of the United Kingdom, is entitled to receive pension under both schemes, he receives a separate pension from each Scheme.

When an insured person is not entitled to two separate pensions, the country from which the insured person does not have entitlement to a
separate pension aggregates the contributions he paid to the other country for the purpose of establishing entitlement to a pension. The amount of
pension paid to the beneficiary after the aggregation, corresponds to his period of insurance in each country without one pension having any effect on the other.

The provisions mentioned above apply also in the case of widow’s pension.

Hopefully, all of the above explains my situation for anyone who is still following....

[Chichi]

I have just received my UK Pension. I contributed for 13 years to Cypriot Social, however, it was not enough credits to receive a Cypriot Pension.
The contributions I paid in Cyprus have been credited to my UK Pension & I now receive a Full UK Pension.
You will not get a Cypriot pension, however, your credits can be used to top up your UK Pension.
I hope this helps.

[PhotoLady]

I have just received my UK Pension. I contributed for 13 years to Cypriot Social, however, it was not enough credits to receive a Cypriot Pension.
The contributions I paid in Cyprus have been credited to my UK Pension & I now receive a Full UK Pension.

Thank you for this, it's what I guessed the final paragraph was implying but without it actually saying it in so many word - the usual ambiguous information...

If this is the case, then I believe I may be in the same position as you, which would provide me with a full New State Pension in UK.

Would you mind saying how many UK qualifying years of credits those 13 years you paid to SI in Cyprus - provided you with?

And, how long did it take for the process to come about - although, I'm not sure if you are (like me) now based in UK.
If you are still in Cyprus, I'm assuming your decision would have been much faster and my claim could could still take a considerable length of time.

Thanks again, it has made me and my other half more positive.

[Chichi]

Hi, I live in Cyprus. I had 35 qualifying years I was informed by the DWP. (I was not informed how many Cypriot years were used) Still, a bit miffed that I didn't receive a small sum for my pension here. When I know of English Cypriots who worked fewer years and received 150pm.
Good Luck

[PhotoLady]

Hi, I live in Cyprus. I had 35 qualifying years I was informed by the DWP. (I was not informed how many Cypriot years were used) Still, a bit miffed that I didn't receive a small sum for my pension here. When I know of English Cypriots who worked fewer years and received 150pm.
Good Luck

Thanks again, no worries and yes - I can understand why you would be miffed...

I guess I will be waiting a while longer as I get the impression those of us who aren't in a position to badger the pensions office in Cyprus directly, are at the bottom of the filing pile when it comes to dealing with correspondence.

I will update again when I have a response from anyone!

[Kissos]

Chichi wrote: ↑
Hi, I live in Cyprus. I had 35 qualifying years I was informed by the DWP. (I was not informed how many Cypriot years were used) Still, a bit miffed that I didn't receive a small sum for my pension here. When I know of English Cypriots who worked fewer years and received 150pm.
Good Luck

Hi
Did you actually apply to Cyprus? Did you log in to see how many points you had here and also to the UK to see total of national insurance years there?
Even if you have less points here than required as long.as you have 6 it might be worth applying.
They write to the UK (they don't take any from there) to check you paid there for around 7 years. This can take a year (,it's the UK replying that takes the time) Cyprus take less than a month now.
At 68 you would be entitled to a lump sum here (from the social pension, not state,) applying 3 months before your 68th birthday via the State pension form.
Worth going to the CAB.

[trevnhil]

Kissos, you wrote..."Did you log in to see how many points you had here and also to the UK to see the total of national insurance years there?"

Can you put the links on to show where people can Log In both in Cyprus and the UK. to see their contributions.

[WHL]

Kissos, you wrote..."Did you log in to see how many points you had here and also to the UK to see the total of national insurance years there?"

Can you put the links on to show where people can Log In both in Cyprus and the UK. to see their contributions.

https://www.gov.cy/

[PhotoLady]

For anyone outside of Cyprus there's no way to access the Cyprus link without creating a CY account, which appears to also need access to Cyprus online banking.

Previously someone mentioned the Cy Portal which had the name Ariadni, although a Google search appears to indicate one or the other was being phased out...

The link for the UK Gov Pensions check for qualifying years starts here:
https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension

You need to create an account with your NI Number and email address and mobile number (if I recall correctly), which provides you with a unique reference number for the account access and a text or email is sent each time.

It lists both full and any empty years or partially completed years here in UK.