J.: UK and Spain, and one year short of a Spanish pension on paper

J. worked in London at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and BNP Paribas from 1998 to 2003, then in Spain for Gamesa, Babcock & Brown and Hideal Partners until 2012. He later ran his own Spanish companies and has now moved back to the UK.

What we found. His Spanish employment years come to about nine, below Spain's 15 year minimum. Adding his UK years brings the total to about 14. The Spanish company register shows him as a director of four Spanish companies from 2009 to 2017, and director periods registered with Spanish social security can count toward the 15 years. His Spanish work record (vida laboral) settles it.

On the UK side, the Dresdner Kleinwort Pension Plan was fully insured with PIC in 2019, with no plan contact published, so the route is the Pension Tracing Service, then a letter to PIC. The BNP Paribas schemes had moved administrator (Howden for the defined benefit scheme, FIL for the defined contribution sections), and the contact still shown on an older page was out of date. We gave him the current ones. No workplace plans were found for his Spanish employers; two of them had been dissolved.

The date. As a UK resident again, he can pay voluntary National Insurance to fill gaps. The last date for the 2020 to 2021 tax year is 5 April 2027.

What he got. The order to do things in, the forms (including the one to apply for a Spanish pension from the UK), and every contact checked against its source.