Retiring in the UK

Hello all! My name is Jeremy and I am stationed in the UK at RAF Lakenheath. My wife is a British national and my plan is to stay here after retirement. My retirement date is November 1st, so I have a lot to do in a short amount of time. My plan is to apply for ILR, but if anyone has better advice, I'd appreciate it. In May I will have been here for three years. I look forward to participating in the forums and learning as much as I can!

Hello all! My name is Jeremy and I am stationed in the UK at RAF Lakenheath. My wife is a British national and my plan is to stay here after retirement. My retirement date is November 1st, so I have a lot to do in a short amount of time. My plan is to apply for ILR, but if anyone has better advice, I'd appreciate it. In May I will have been here for three years. I look forward to participating in the forums and learning as much as I can!

Hi Jeremy, welcome!   

So you are currently here as a member of the US armed forces?

Hi and welcome to UKY!

You'll probably want to start a thread about your visa options in the Visas and Citizenship section.  Offhand, I can say that in most cases, 3 years is not enough to qualify for ILR.  Plus, your eligibility to be in the UK will change once you retire, so you will need a different visa.  If there is a special route for US military stationed here, I would love to learn about it.  But assuming there isn't, you will need to follow this path:

1. Apply for FLR(M) prior to your current status expiring.  FLR(M) will be valid for 30 months (2.5  years).
2. After 30 months (2.5 years), before your first FLR(M) expires, apply for a second FLR(M).  It will again be valid for 30 months (2.5 years).
3. After 60 months (5 years) in the UK on those two visas, you will be eligible for ILR.
4. After obtaining ILR, if desired, you may apply for UK citizenship.

On the good side, your military pension won't be taxable in the UK, only in the USA.

Welcome!

Hi Jeremy, welcome!   

So you are currently here as a member of the US armed forces?

Hello, yes I am currently in the Air Force. Thanks for the warm welcome!

Hi and welcome to UKY!

You'll probably want to start a thread about your visa options in the Visas and Citizenship section.  Offhand, I can say that in most cases, 3 years is not enough to qualify for ILR.  Plus, your eligibility to be in the UK will change once you retire, so you will need a different visa.  If there is a special route for US military stationed here, I would love to learn about it.  But assuming there isn't, you will need to follow this path:

1. Apply for FLR(M) prior to your current status expiring.  FLR(M) will be valid for 30 months (2.5  years).
2. After 30 months (2.5 years), before your first FLR(M) expires, apply for a second FLR(M).  It will again be valid for 30 months (2.5 years).
3. After 60 months (5 years) in the UK on those two visas, you will be eligible for ILR.
4. After obtaining ILR, if desired, you may apply for UK citizenship.

Hello, thanks for the warm welcome and the good advice. Info like this is exactly what I'm looking for.

On the good side, your military pension won't be taxable in the UK, only in the USA.

Welcome!

Hi Nan D., that's one of the first things I looked at when I started considering staying in the UK. And being a NV resident, I won't be liable for any state income tax!

Hi Nan D., that's one of the first things I looked at when I started considering staying in the UK. And being a NV resident, I won't be liable for any state income tax!

There is a provision in US law that prohibits any one state from taxing the income of a pension from sources in another state. So, unless you maintained your Nevada residency, you wouldn't be taxed there on your pension even if they did have state income tax.     Effective for retirement income received after December 31, 1995, federal law prohibits any state from taxing certain retirement income (mainly pension income) unless you are resident of, or domiciled in, that state.

I don't think you'll get social security (I don't believe you had to contribute?), but if you did, it would only be taxable in the UK. The personal allowance for someone living in the UK on UK taxes is, I think, £11,850. You'd only pay UK taxes on any social security above that amount. You would not pay any taxes on your social security to the IRS.

Caveat to the military pension not being taxed in the UK. I think if you become a citizen, it becomes taxable here.

I don't think you'll get social security (I don't believe you had to contribute?), but if you did, it would only be taxable in the UK. The personal allowance for someone living in the UK on UK taxes is, I think, £11,850. You'd only pay UK taxes on any social security above that amount. You would not pay any taxes on your social security to the IRS.

Caveat to the military pension not being taxed in the UK. I think if you become a citizen, it becomes taxable here.

Military members do contribute to and can receive benefits from Social Security.

Ah, I'm out of date then on that. Good news for the OP. 

(I had an elderly family member who was career US military who didn't have SS - at some point they must have started covering them. Would have been nice for this guy, as he was having a tough go living on just his pension!)

Ah, I'm out of date then on that. Good news for the OP. 

(I had an elderly family member who was career US military who didn't have SS - at some point they must have started covering them. Would have been nice for this guy, as he was having a tough go living on just his pension!)

Yeah, I know my dad paid in and collected, but I Googled it just to be sure I didn't misunderstand his situation before I posted (he had a 2nd career, like most retired military personnel do).  It seems there was a time when service members didn't pay in, but that ended when my parents were kids.  My dad always paid in, and he benefited after he hit retirement age (and now my mother benefits as his widow).

I feel soooo ooooollllddddd some days. 

I feel soooo ooooollllddddd some days. 

Eep.  I re-read my comment.  Sorry for any implication.    You did say it was an elderly relative, right?

Have a look at the answer to the first question on this page: https://www.aarp.org/work/social-security/info-08-2013/military-social-security-credits.html  Especially the second paragraph that starts, "Some history: . . ."

No, no problems! 

It's just that the rules changed around 1960, I think, and my uncle had already been long retired by then. (I come from a very large extended family whose births were spread out from 1898 through the 1930s. My poor grandma! And a lot of her kids married late. Something to do with WW2 I believe.  My father was born in 1918. Your parents were....considerably later than mine! )

Yes, I can confirm we do pay into social security each month.

I forgot to mention previously that I also have a 7 year old son who was born here and has UK citizenship. Not sure if that makes a difference.