How to call the International Pension Centre about your UK State Pension

The International Pension Centre (IPC) is the part of the Department for Work and Pensions that deals with pensions and benefits for people who live abroad or have lived abroad. Its State Pension line is +44 (0)191 218 7777, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, UK time.

A separate benefits line, +44 (0)191 206 9390, keeps the same hours and covers Bereavement Support Payment and the older bereavement benefits, Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance, Maternity Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance and Widowed Parent's Allowance.

There is also a dedicated line for people living in Yemen who need help with payments: +44 (0)191 401 8696, Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm. That line is where the Centre also publishes interpreter services and the option of a call back - see below.

The online enquiry form is the cheap route, but the Centre notes it is taking longer than usual to reply to online queries - and some things cannot go through it at all: changes to your personal details, such as your address or bank details, must be reported by telephone or by letter. Those are the calls worth planning around the UK working day.

On the dedicated Yemen line, for people who live in Yemen and need help with payments, the Centre publishes two extra things: interpreter services to help with language barriers, and the option to request a call back to reduce the cost of calling from abroad.

You can claim State Pension abroad if you have paid enough UK National Insurance contributions to qualify, and you must be within 4 months of your State Pension age to claim. You claim either by contacting the International Pension Centre or by sending the international claim form to the address on the form.

Your pension can be paid into a bank in the country you live in or a bank or building society in the UK, every 4 or 13 weeks as you choose. Payments into an overseas account are usually converted into your local currency at the exchange rate at the time, with a conversion charge of 0.39% before payment. If your State Pension is under £5 a week, it is paid once a year in December.

Payments abroad are processed by a US company, so a payment due in the same week as a US federal holiday can arrive one day late, and one that falls on a public holiday where you live may be delayed. Check those before you ring about a payment that is a day or two overdue.

GOV.UK writes the numbers as +44 (0) 191 218 7777 and +44 (0) 191 206 9390. The zero in brackets is the one you leave out from outside the UK; 191 is the Newcastle area code and stays.

A change of address cannot be done online - it is a call or a letter - and if you choose the call, a roaming SIM makes it expensive. Browzerphone dials the same +44 number from a browser tab, charged per minute at the rate for the United Kingdom, with no SIM card and nothing installed.

On a laptop you can keep your pension letters open next to the call. Check the per-minute rate to the United Kingdom first, so you know what the call will cost before you dial.