If you have been making social security (ZUS) payments here in Poland, then you need to claim your UK state pension here too.

The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Submit the form ZUS Rp-1E (Wniosek o emeryturę – Application for retirement) to the ZUS office. In this form all employment periods, both in Poland and in the UK, should be indicated.

2. Provide the relevant P45 (issued by employer) and P60 (final tax declaration) documents from the UK. If this is not possible, then you should precisely detail the addresses of past employers and working dates as well as providing your UK National Insurance Number.

3. You will also be entitled to Polish state pension. To claim this, complete the form E207 (Informacja dotycząca przebiegu ubezpieczenia osoby ubezpieczonej). Any information on employment periods in Poland should be completed here. In addition, you should provide documents confirming your employment in Poland. I.e. Work Certificate (Świadectwo Pracy) and form Rp-7 (issued by your employer on request).

Please note that although the submission of all documents is done at the ZUS office, there are 2 separate decisions made on granting your pension. One for the Polish part and one for the UK part. In addition, retirement benefits will ultimately be paid as 2 separate transfers.

If you have not made social security payments in Poland, then you will need to claim your pension through the International Pensions Centre in the UK. You can call them on +44 191 218 77 77 or use their online enquiry form.

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