Can I keep paying into a country's pension after I leave?

In several countries, yes, through a voluntary scheme, and the rules we hold set a deadline that runs from the day you leave. Ireland: Emigrants who want to keep their Irish contribution record alive with voluntary contributions must apply within five years of the end of the last year they paid or were credited compulsory insurance (Source: citizensinformation.ie, read 1 September 2026). The Netherlands: SVB: you can take out voluntary AOW insurance if, during the 50-year build-up period, you start living or working outside the Netherlands, you apply for voluntary insurance within 1 year of the date on which you start living or working outside the Netherlands, and you had not yet reached your AOW pension age (Source: svb.nl, read 1 September 2026). Where an employer sends you abroad for a time, some countries keep you in their own system instead, on rules of their own, as the second list below shows.

Which countries offer voluntary contributions after I leave?

• Spain. The Seguridad Social (Importass guide) states there is a one-year period, from the event that allows subscription, to register for the ordinary convenio especial; if the application is filed within the first 90 calendar days the agreement can take effect from the day after the baja, otherwise it takes effect from the date of registration (Source: portal.seg-social.gob.es, read 1 September 2026).
• Liechtenstein. Entry into the Liechtenstein voluntary AHV/IV insurance for nationals abroad must be declared at the latest by completion of the 50th year of age (Source: ahv.li, read 1 September 2026).
• Austria. Voluntary self-insurance (Selbstversicherung) can begin at the earliest with the start of the 12th month before the application is filed, and at the latest on the first day of the month following the application (Source: pv.at, read 1 September 2026).
• United Kingdom. Gaps in a UK National Insurance record can only be filled by paying voluntary contributions for the past 6 tax years, and the cut-off falls on 5 April (Source: gov.uk, read 1 September 2026).

Our pension questions pages answer this for single countries, for example the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland.

What if my employer sends me abroad?

Then some countries keep you in their own system for a time, or let you apply to stay in it.

• United Kingdom. If a person is sent to work abroad by a UK employer in the stated circumstances, UK National Insurance must continue to be paid for the first 52 weeks of that posting (Source: gov.uk, read 1 September 2026).
• Germany. An application for an exceptional agreement (Ausnahmevereinbarung) to stay insured in Germany while working abroad must be made before the work abroad begins (Source: deutsche-rentenversicherung.de, read 1 September 2026).
• Switzerland. An employee posted or working abroad who wants to stay in the Swiss OASI/DI scheme by continued insurance must apply no later than six months after the day the conditions are met (Source: ahv-iv.ch, read 1 September 2026).

The paper that confirms which country covers a posted worker goes by several names, among them a certificate of coverage. We hold no sourced row on that paper, so we do not describe it here.

Can I fill old gaps later?

Only where a country's rules allow it, and not in every system.

• Philippines. Voluntary members cannot fill old gaps: months without posted contributions stay gaps and back payment is not allowed (Source: sss.gov.ph and pcw.gov.ph, read 4 October 2026).
• France. Buying back French quarters for work done abroad must be requested within ten years from the last day of that activity, which is L'Assurance retraite's own wording, and the page does not state any extension (Source: lassuranceretraite.fr and agirc-arrco.fr, read 3 October 2026).
• Turkey. The yurt disi borclanma (Law 3201 foreign period buy back) debt must be paid within 3 months of the notification date, or the buy back is void (Source: sgk.gov.tr, read 1 September 2026).

What can I check today?

Our deadline register holds 4 rows of the type voluntary contribution deadline, and each country's deadline page shows the rows we hold for it. The country hubs for the examples above: Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Liechtenstein, Austria, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Philippines, France and Turkey.

Our free pension checker and our free map start from your own work history. Our pension questions pages answer single country questions, our authority answers publish what national pension institutions told us in writing, and our monthly data release publishes our agreement routes and deadline rows as CSV, each with its source and read date.

Frequently asked questions

Is it worth paying voluntary contributions? That is a decision we do not advise on. We identify and research, and set out each rule with its source and read date.

Does the voluntary scheme cover every country I lived in? No. Each scheme belongs to one country and follows that country's conditions, as the rows above show.

Sources

• Deadline register row uk-5, citing gov.uk, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row de-15, citing deutsche-rentenversicherung.de, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row ch-19, citing ahv-iv.ch, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row ie-19, citing citizensinformation.ie, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row nl-9, citing svb.nl, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row es-16, citing portal.seg-social.gob.es, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row li-17, citing ahv.li, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row at-2, citing pv.at, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row uk-10, citing gov.uk, read 1 September 2026.
• Philippines, pension portals directory entry, citing sss.gov.ph and pcw.gov.ph, read 4 October 2026.
• France, pension portals directory entry, citing lassuranceretraite.fr and agirc-arrco.fr, read 3 October 2026.
• Deadline register row tr-3, citing sgk.gov.tr, read 1 September 2026.