India and UK sign social security agreement to end dual contributions

India and the United Kingdom signed a Social Security Agreement on 10 February 2026 designed to end dual social‑security contributions for short-term cross-border assignees between the two countries. The accord targets assignment arrangements where employees would otherwise be liable to contribute to both national systems at the same time.

KPMG’s Global Mobility Services member firm in India published a Flash Alert summarising the agreement on February 18, 2026. The Flash Alert sets out the headline change from the SSA and is intended as the member firm’s initial guidance to clients and in-house mobility teams that manage India-UK assignments.

The SSA’s explicit purpose is to eliminate overlapping contribution obligations for short-term assignees, meaning employees on limited-duration postings from India to the UK or from the UK to India should no longer be required to make parallel payments into both countries’ social‑security schemes. The agreement therefore addresses the common cross-border friction that arises when home and host country payrolls both apply social‑security levies.

For employers with India-UK mobility programs, the timing is immediate in policy terms: the SSA was signed on 10 February 2026 and KPMG GMS in India published its Flash Alert on February 18, 2026. That sequence gives global mobility and payroll teams a clear date to reference when reviewing existing assignment letters, payroll withholding rules, and contribution reporting between India and the United Kingdom.

KPMG’s Global Mobility Services member firm in India framed the Flash Alert as the first summary resource for clients; employers and mobility managers relying on India-UK assignees will need to consult the full text of the agreement and any implementing guidance from Indian and UK authorities. The agreement and KPMG’s Flash Alert together mark a concrete change in the regulatory landscape for Asia-Europe mobility between these two countries.