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The short answer
A UK private pension can be transferred abroad only to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS). HMRC charges 25% of the amount transferred, the overseas transfer charge, unless an exclusion applies; the main one is that you live in the same country as the scheme. We could not confirm any Nigerian scheme on HMRC's list as at October 2026, so check before you take any step.
Why people ask
Many Nigerians who worked in the UK plan to go home, and a pot left behind in pounds can feel out of reach. The reality is that a UK pension can be paid to you in Nigeria without being moved, and that a transfer abroad is narrow, regulated and potentially expensive. Start with what the rules allow.
What a QROPS is
A recognised overseas pension scheme is a non-UK scheme that meets HMRC conditions and has told HMRC it qualifies. HMRC publishes a list of schemes that have notified it. The overseas transfer charge rules in HMRC's Pensions Tax Manual are written around transfers to these schemes.
The 25% overseas transfer charge
HMRC's Pensions Tax Manual (PTM102400, updated 9 October 2026) sets the charge at 25% of the transferred value. The member and the QROPS scheme manager are jointly and severally liable. A separate charge can apply if the amount transferred is above your available overseas transfer allowance.
When the charge does not apply
- Same country. No charge if you are resident in the country where the QROPS is established.
- EEA and Gibraltar. The old exclusion for UK or EEA residents moving to an EEA scheme has been repealed; it now covers only transfers requested before 30 October 2024 and completed before 30 April 2025.
The exclusions are not fixed at the date of transfer. If your circumstances change within the relevant period after the transfer, which HMRC's examples show running to 5 April of the fifth tax year after, and no exclusion then applies, the 25% charge can arise at that point. Someone who moves to Nigeria, transfers to a Nigerian QROPS and then returns to the UK within that window could face it.
Worked example
An example only. You have a £40,000 UK pension pot.
| Scenario | Charge | Left to invest |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer while you live in the UK | £10,000 (25%) | £30,000 |
| Transfer after moving to the same country as the scheme | £0 | £40,000 |
| As above, then move back to the UK within the relevant period | £10,000 when you move | £30,000 |
Alternatives to a transfer
Leaving the pension in the UK is often simpler. UK pensions can usually be drawn from 55, according to GOV.UK, and paid to you wherever you live. Article 18 of the UK–Nigeria tax treaty says pensions for past employment are taxable only in the country they come from, so a UK pension paid to you in Nigeria stays within UK income tax. The UK State Pension cannot be transferred at all; it can be paid abroad, but GOV.UK says it does not rise each year for people living in Nigeria. See paying voluntary National Insurance from Nigeria.
If you have already moved back to Nigeria
You can still claim the UK State Pension from Nigeria. GOV.UK says to claim through the International Pension Centre, within four months of reaching State Pension age, with payments every four or 13 weeks. Payments to an overseas bank account carry a conversion charge that GOV.UK gives as 0.39%. Nigeria is not on the list of countries where the State Pension rises each year, so it stays at the rate you first receive unless you return to live in the UK, when it rises to the current rate.
Private pensions are separate. You can usually keep a UK workplace or personal pension where it is and draw from it from abroad; check with the provider whether it pays to Nigerian accounts or only to UK ones, and in which currency.
What to check before any transfer
- Whether the receiving scheme is on HMRC's current list, in its exact legal name.
- Where you will be resident on the transfer date and for the following five tax years.
- What you lose: safeguarded benefits, guarantees or a defined benefit promise.
- Fees charged by the receiving scheme and any adviser.
- How the money would be invested, in which currency, and how you would draw an income from it in retirement.
Be wary of anyone who contacts you offering to move your UK pension to Nigeria or to release it early. Ask any adviser for their Financial Conduct Authority registration and check it yourself. Pension transfers are an area where regulated advice is worth paying for; this article is information only. For the wider decision, read UK pension or Nigerian RSA.
Where Pryme fits
If you leave the pension in the UK and draw it later, payments can arrive in pounds on a Pryme account and be moved to naira with Swap as you need it, with the rate and fee shown before you approve.
Questions people ask
Can I transfer my UK pension to my Nigerian RSA?
Only if the receiving Nigerian scheme is a QROPS on HMRC's list. We could not confirm one as at October 2026; check the current list on GOV.UK.
What is the overseas transfer charge?
A 25% charge on the transferred value, set out in HMRC PTM102400, unless an exclusion applies, mainly that you live in the same country as the scheme.
Do I avoid the charge if I move to Nigeria first?
If you are resident in the same country as the QROPS, the charge does not apply at transfer. It can still arise if you move away within the relevant period of about five tax years.
Can I get my UK pension paid in Nigeria without transferring it?
Yes. A UK pension can be paid to you abroad, and under the UK–Nigeria treaty it is taxed in the UK.
Sources
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM102400: overseas transfer charge (updated 9 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Workplace pensions · accessed Oct 2026
- UK–Nigeria Double Taxation Convention 1987 (GOV.UK PDF) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad, rates (updated 9 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.