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Your questions How some of the changes will affect your finances
The Guardian
|November 28, 2025
From new tax rates on savings, to a pay-per-mile scheme for electric vehicles, via changes to pension contribution rules - this week’s budget included a raft of measures that will have an impact on people’s finances. Here are some of the questions people wanted the Guardian to answer:
I am paying class 2 UK state pension contributions as I live abroad. Can I still obtain a UK state pension? I lived in the UK for 15 years before moving to Europe.
One measure that didn’t get much attention is the chancellor’s decision to make changes to how people can build up entitlement to the UK state pension if they have moved overseas. State pensions are based on national insurance contributions (Nics), and people can make extra payments, called voluntary Nics, to make sure they qualify for a good retirement income.
The budget included a change to the voluntary Nics people in your situation can make. From April 2026, you will no longer be able to use the cheaper class 2 Nics and will only be able to use class 3 ones. These cost five times as much, at £17.75 for every week’s worth of Nics you are making up. Another change was to make it that people must have lived in the UK for at least 10 years in a row, or paid 10 years’ of Nics here, before moving abroad. Those who haven’t will not be allowed to make any voluntary payments. This does not look like a problem for you.
The contributions you have already made will still count, and you will be able to make more at the cheaper rate before the change, so you will still benefit from a UK state pension when you reach the right age.
This story is from the November 28, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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