# NRA claiming US social security pension in UK



## amills

I worked for 23 years in US and have now returned to the UK to retire next year. 

As a non-resident alien will tax automatically be withheld from my social security payments from US? I hope not because my payment will be reduced anyway through the Windfall Elimination Provision because of UK state pension from working here for 17 years.


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## Bevdeforges

Actually, no, you won't have the 30% withheld from your US Social Security, thanks to the US-UK tax treaty. Apparently in the UK your US Social Security benefits are taxed by the UK government rather than by the US government. There are a handful of countries that do it that way.

You may want to take a look at IRS Publication 915 for the details.
Cheers,
Bev


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## amills

Thank you very much for the information. I think you mean irs publication 519 rather than 915.


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## BBCWatcher

Note that with U.S. Social Security you have the flexibility to begin collecting retirement benefits as early as age 62 and as late as age 70. The longer you wait, the bigger your monthly benefit. If you don't need the money now and are in good health, it's generally to your advantage to wait to collect. There's no benefit to delaying past age 70, though, so be sure to collect starting no later than age 70. If you collect earlier than full retirement age (about age 66 nowadays) and are still earning income from work, be careful you understand the tax implications -- though in your case it seems you won't be working and might be protected by the treaty even if you were.

Also, U.S. Social Security typically offers a benefit to your spouse (if you have one), including now same-sex legal spouses. Your spouse may or may not collect at the same time depending on his/her age, and there are also considerations when your spouse should start collecting.


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## amills

Thanks for answer. If Social Security is my only income from the US, will I have to file a US tax return every year?


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## Bevdeforges

amills said:


> Thanks for answer. If Social Security is my only income from the US, will I have to file a US tax return every year?


As a non-US citizen, probably not - but it can depend on the amount you receive, and also if they take the 30% withholding or not. Not sure how they arrange that for countries that tax US Social Security in lieu of the US taxing of it.
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher

SSA's brochures say that if you're a resident of the U.K. and receiving U.S. Social Security benefits (which SSA can pay directly into your U.K. bank account via direct deposit), they will withhold taxes according to the U.S.-U.K. tax treaty. That means zero withholding, so that's nice.

Your benefit will be adjusted if necessary to account for the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), but that's a separate matter.

There are excellent spousal benefits as well, if applicable.

I don't think you're exempt from U.S. tax filing if you meet or exceed the filing threshold. There's no penalty for non-filing if you genuinely owe zero U.S. tax, but I would not recommend relying on that provision as a conscious strategy. Taking a trip through IRS Form 1040NR once per year should not be difficult if that's your only U.S. source income and if you're not U.S. resident. You would attach IRS Form 8833 -- that's the key form that should zero out your U.S. taxes.


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