The short answerYou can apply to have your UK insurance record for years before 1948 removed from your pension record if this will make you eligible for a higher German state pension. This will not affect the UK State Pension you get.
Contact the International Pension Centre: telephone 0191 2187777.
Quick facts
- Arrived
- Before June 1940
- UK insurance
- Paid before 1948
- Effect on UK pension
- None
- Survivors
- Spouses, and some children
- Contact
- International Pension Centre
Who might be eligible
You might be eligible if all of these apply:
- you came to the UK before June 1940 as part of the Kindertransport
- you paid into UK State Pension insurance before 1948
- your entitlement to a German state pension was reduced or lost by the UK State Pension insurance paid before 6 April 1948
Families
Surviving wives or husbands might also be able to benefit if the Kindertransportee has died. Children could benefit, depending on how long ago their parent died.
How to apply
Contact the International Pension Centre if you think you may be eligible. Telephone: 0191 2187777.
See also the State Pension.
Common questions
What is the Kindertransport pension change?
You can have pre-1948 UK pension insurance removed from your record if it reduced your German state pension.
Does it lower my UK State Pension?
No. This will not affect the UK State Pension you get.
Can family members benefit?
Surviving wives or husbands might, and children could depending on how long ago their parent died.
Who do I contact?
The International Pension Centre, on 0191 2187777.
Source: GOV.UK: Kindertransport and the State Pension, read 12 October 2026. Every figure on this page is quoted from there. If it changes, this page is wrong until we fix it — tell us and we will.