Do I need to transfer my UK pension to Cyprus?

No. You get the Cyprus rate without moving the pension. A transfer can trigger the 25% overseas transfer charge and needs regulated advice, so it only makes sense for specific reasons.

How do I stop UK tax being taken from my pension?

Send HMRC the UK-Cyprus double taxation form for individuals (often called DT-Individual), certified by the Cyprus Tax Department. HMRC then tells your pension provider to pay you without UK tax, usually with a no-tax (NT) code. It only works once you're Cyprus tax resident, so your adviser times it with your move.

Will my UK State Pension go up each year in Cyprus?

Yes. Cyprus is in the EEA, so the UK State Pension is uprated every year for people living there, according to GOV.UK.

Can I still elect Cyprus tax on my civil service or NHS pension?

No. The transitional election under the 2019 Protocol applied only to years ending on or before 31 December 2024. From 2025, UK government service pensions are taxed in the UK.

Should I take my tax-free lump sum before I move?

It depends on your figures and on how Cyprus treats the lump sum once you're resident, which sources describe differently. Get the answer in writing from your adviser before you draw anything.

Why is the introduction free?

The adviser may pay us a referral fee if you become their client. You pay the same as any other client, and we tell you first. See our referral disclosure.

Can I transfer my UK pension to a Cyprus pension scheme?

Not in practice right now. HMRC's recognised overseas pension scheme list showed no Cyprus-based schemes when we checked in September 2026, and you don't need one: a UK scheme can pay you in Cyprus and Cyprus still taxes it at 5% over €5,000.

What happens after I ask for an introduction?

Jason reads your list of pensions and replies within one working day, flagging any government pension or transfer question. With your consent, we introduce you by email to a pension tax adviser, plus a regulated financial adviser only if a transfer is on the table. Each quotes you in writing; there's no obligation.

Tax services · Pensions

UK Pension Tax Advice in Cyprus: Draw It, Keep It or Transfer It?

You don't need to transfer your UK pension to Cyprus to get the 5% rate: once you're Cyprus tax resident, private pensions and the State Pension can be taxed at 5% on everything above €5,000 a year while they stay in the UK. Transferring abroad can cost a 25% UK charge, and government service pensions stay taxed in the UK. We introduce you free to an adviser who plans it before you move anything.

Vetted, licensed partners
Free introduction
Referral fees disclosed

Request an introduction

Free. I reply personally within one working day.

The short version

From 1 January 2026, Cyprus residents can elect to pay 5% on foreign pension income above €5,000 a year (it was €3,420 until 2025), or use normal rates if that's cheaper.

Government service pensions (civil service, NHS, armed forces, police) are taxed only in the UK. The election to be taxed in Cyprus ended on 31 December 2024.

GeSY, Cyprus's national health system, takes 2.65% of pension income, up to €180,000 a year.

Transferring a UK pension to an overseas scheme (QROPS) can cost a 25% UK tax charge unless you live in the same country as the scheme.

Advice on moving a defined benefit pension worth over £30,000 must come from an adviser with the right UK regulatory permission.

How your UK pension is taxed once you live in Cyprus

Your UK pension is taxed by type, not by where the money sits. Under the UK-Cyprus Double Taxation Convention, private pensions and the UK State Pension are taxed in the country where you live, so Cyprus. Government service pensions are taxed where they're paid, so the UK.

Cyprus then gives you a choice each year for foreign pension income: Option A, a flat 5% on everything above the exempt amount, or Option B, adding it to your other income at normal rates (0% up to €22,000, then 20% to 35%).

On a €30,000 private pension in 2026, Option A costs €1,250 (5% of €25,000) and Option B costs €1,600. GeSY at 2.65% (€795) is due either way. Your adviser runs the numbers every year, because Option B can win if your pension is small. If you also have savings or dividend income, see Cyprus non-dom tax planning.

Older woman seen from behind watering potted herbs on a whitewashed village terrace with a distant sea view — A terrace garden above the coast

Each UK pension type at a glance

Assumes you are Cyprus tax resident and not UK resident. Your adviser confirms how each of your pensions is classed.

Pension type	Taxed in	Rate	What to do
Workplace, personal pension or SIPP	Cyprus	5% over €5,000 (Option A) or normal rates	Ask HMRC to stop UK tax at source using its Cyprus treaty form
UK State Pension	Cyprus	Counts towards the same 5% election	Claim through the International Pension Centre. It rises every year while you live in Cyprus
Government service pension (civil service, NHS, forces, police)	UK only	UK marginal rate	No election available since 1 January 2025
Tax-free lump sum (25%)	UK tax-free under UK rules	Cyprus treatment should be confirmed in writing	Decide whether to take it before or after you become Cyprus resident

Sources: UK-Cyprus Double Taxation Order 2018 and 2019 Protocol; Cyprus Tax Department foreign pension form (Options A and B); PwC and KPMG 2026 summaries (€5,000 threshold); GOV.UK State Pension abroad guidance.

Watch out

Sources still disagree on the exempt amount

The Tax Department's foreign pension form online still shows €3,420. PwC and KPMG confirm the 2026 reform raised it to €5,000 from 1 January 2026. Use €5,000 for 2026 income and ask your adviser to confirm the form they file.

Should you transfer your UK pension to Cyprus?

Usually not. You don't need to move a UK pension to get Cyprus's 5% rate. The treaty already gives Cyprus the right to tax it, and a UK scheme can pay you in Cyprus.

Two older men seen from behind playing backgammon under a plane tree in a village square near Paphos — A village coffee shop near Paphos

Transferring to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) has become riskier:

Since 30 October 2024, the UK's 25% overseas transfer charge applies to transfers to schemes in the EEA too, unless you live in the same country as the scheme. Move to a Maltese scheme while living in Paphos, and you pay 25%. The charge can also bite if you move country within 5 tax years of the transfer.
If the pension has safeguarded benefits (a final salary or defined benefit pension) worth more than £30,000, UK law requires advice from a firm with FCA permission to advise on pension transfers before the scheme will release it.
The FCA has warned that overseas advisers sometimes steer UK pension transfers into high-charge or unsuitable investments.

There are cases where a transfer or a change of scheme makes sense. That decision needs a regulated financial adviser, which is a different job from a tax adviser. See our wealth planning advisers page for what that adviser must be licensed to do.

Transfer your UK pension to Cyprus, or leave it where it is?

Three common choices for a British retiree living in Paphos. None changes how Cyprus taxes the income you draw.

Keep it in the UK scheme

Draw from Cyprus

Wins 3 of 5

International SIPP

Still a UK scheme

Wins 1 of 5

Overseas scheme (QROPS)

Moved out of the UK

25% UK overseas transfer charge

None

None (UK-registered)

Yes, unless you live where the scheme is

Cyprus tax on what you draw

5% over €5,000 or normal rates

Regulated advice required

Yes, for defined benefit pensions over £30,000

Ongoing charges

Your scheme's existing charges

Platform plus adviser fees

Often the highest; ask for every charge in writing

Usually suits

Most retirees

People who want several pots in one place or other currencies

Rarely anyone living in Cyprus

The verdict

For most people moving to Paphos, keeping the pension in its UK scheme and stopping UK tax at source is the cheapest route. When we checked HMRC's recognised overseas pension scheme list (last updated 15 September 2026), it showed no Cyprus-based schemes, so a "Cyprus pension transfer" usually means a scheme in another country, which is exactly where the 25% charge applies. If a transfer is still on the table, speak to a regulated wealth planning adviser first.

What a UK pension tax adviser does

A pension tax adviser makes sure each pension is taxed once, in the right place, at the lowest legal rate. On a typical retiree case they:

Classify each pension under the treaty: private, State or government service.
Time your Cyprus residence start and any lump sum against your UK split year.
Get UK tax stopped at source on private pensions by filing HMRC's Cyprus treaty form, certified by the Cyprus Tax Department.
Choose Option A or B each year and file it with your Cyprus TD1 return by 31 July.
Coordinate healthcare. State Pension recipients can usually get an S1 from the NHS and register it with GeSY.

Read the background in our UK pensions in Cyprus guide, and see Category F if you still need a residence permit.

Good to know

What Paphos Advisor does, and what we don't

We do: help you order the move (permit, S1 or insurance, bank account, tax residency), and introduce you to an independent pension tax adviser. If you're weighing a transfer, we also point you to a regulated financial adviser.

We don't: give tax or financial advice, recommend products or take commission on investments. Introductions are free to you; partners may pay us a referral fee, as explained in our referral disclosure. If you also have UK property, shares or a company, UK to Cyprus tax advice covers the wider exit; all our tax services are on Cyprus tax advice.

How the introduction works

01
5 minutes
List your pensions
Type, rough annual income, whether you're drawing yet, and your move date.
02
We spot the issues
Government pension, lump sum timing, transfer questions, S1. We flag what to ask.
03
One introduction
With your consent, to a pension tax adviser; plus a regulated financial adviser if a transfer is on the table.
04
Written quote
They quote you directly. You decide.

What UK pension tax advice costs

Pension tax work is usually a fixed fee for the first year, then part of your annual return. Ranges are from published 2026 Cyprus fee guides.

Specialist hourly advice

€150–400

Annual Cyprus tax return with pension election

€200–1,200

Full relocation tax engagementIf you also need residency and UK exit planning

€1,500–5,000

Regulated pension transfer adviceQuoted separately by an FCA- or CySEC-authorised firm

€0

Total typical ranges

€1,850 – €6,600

Sources: Cyprus Tax Life and Global Law Experts (tax adviser fees). Regulated investment and pension transfer advice is priced by the adviser; ask for all charges in writing, including product and platform fees.

UK pensions in Cyprus in numbers

flat rate on foreign pensions (Option A)

€5,000

exempt each year from 2026

€3,420 until 2025

25%

UK overseas transfer charge risk

unless you live where the scheme is

£30,000

defined benefit value that triggers mandatory advice

Retiring to Paphos?

Get the retirement move checklist

Pensions, S1, GeSY, Category F and banking, in the order they need to happen.

Open the retirement checklist Retiring in Paphos

Pension tax advisers

We introduce tax advisers with a recognised qualification (ICPAC, ACCA, ICAEW or CIOT) who handle UK pensions for Cyprus residents and quote fixed fees in writing. They don't sell investment products.

Licensed and regulated

Registered with the right Cyprus body — Bar Association, ICPAC, CySEC or the Estate Agents Council.

Fluent with UK clients

They know HMRC, UK pensions and how British clients expect to be kept in the loop.

Vetted in person

I’ve worked with them or checked their work with people I trust. No paid listings.

Fees disclosed

If a partner pays a referral fee, I tell you before the introduction.

Partner profiles are shared privately, matched to your situation.

Request an introduction

UK pension tax questions

Private pensions and the UK State Pension are taxed in Cyprus once you're Cyprus tax resident, with the option of 5% on the amount above €5,000 a year. Government service pensions stay taxable only in the UK.

Free introduction

Get introduced to a UK pension tax adviser

Tell us which pensions you have and when you're moving. Jason replies within one working day, then, with your consent, introduces you to an independent adviser who handles UK pensions for Cyprus residents.

Checks every pension against the UK-Cyprus treaty
No product sales or commission
Fixed fee quoted in writing
Free to you; any referral fee disclosed first

Founder-led. Replies within one working day.

Sources checked for this page

Written by

Jason

Founder, Paphos Advisor

British founder who moved his family from the UK to Paphos in 2025. I write down what I learned doing it properly — the tax, the residency and the living-here detail — and introduce people to the specialists I’d use myself.

How I research and fact-check

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UK Pension Tax Advice in Cyprus: Draw It, Keep It or Transfer It?

How your UK pension is taxed once you live in Cyprus

Each UK pension type at a glance

Should you transfer your UK pension to Cyprus?

Transfer your UK pension to Cyprus, or leave it where it is?

What a UK pension tax adviser does

How the introduction works

List your pensions

We spot the issues

One introduction

Written quote

What UK pension tax advice costs

UK pensions in Cyprus in numbers

Pension tax advisers

UK pension tax questions

Is my UK pension taxed in Cyprus?

Do I need to transfer my UK pension to Cyprus?

How do I stop UK tax being taken from my pension?

Will my UK State Pension go up each year in Cyprus?

Can I still elect Cyprus tax on my civil service or NHS pension?

Should I take my tax-free lump sum before I move?

Why is the introduction free?

Can I transfer my UK pension to a Cyprus pension scheme?

What happens after I ask for an introduction?

Get introduced to a UK pension tax adviser

Sources checked for this page

Keep reading

How your UK pension is taxed once you live in Cyprus

Each UK pension type at a glance

Should you transfer your UK pension to Cyprus?

Transfer your UK pension to Cyprus, or leave it where it is?

What a UK pension tax adviser does

How the introduction works

List your pensions

We spot the issues

One introduction

Written quote

What UK pension tax advice costs

UK pensions in Cyprus in numbers

Pension tax advisers

UK pension tax questions

Is my UK pension taxed in Cyprus?

Do I need to transfer my UK pension to Cyprus?

How do I stop UK tax being taken from my pension?

Will my UK State Pension go up each year in Cyprus?

Can I still elect Cyprus tax on my civil service or NHS pension?

Should I take my tax-free lump sum before I move?

Why is the introduction free?

Can I transfer my UK pension to a Cyprus pension scheme?

What happens after I ask for an introduction?

Get introduced to a UK pension tax adviser