Taking National Insurance Pension Contributions back to Australia

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

If you're referring to the UK State Pension, then I don't think you can, however, I've never tried and you appear to have friends who have, so perhaps you should contact them and ask.  That said, you don't lose anything you've paid in, you can claim what I suspect will be a reduced pension when you reach UK state pension age (reduced because you won't have paid in enough in 17 years to qualify for a full pension).

If you're referring to a private pension, you just contact the institution you've got the pension with and ask them what your options are; you should be aware that private pension savings often came with a tax benefit that you may have to pay back if you take it early.

I've found a website on the Internet that may help you further; this link will take you there.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team