I am a British citizen, returning to the UK after nearly 38

Hi Jenny, sorry for the delay in reverting, I have been offline for a few days.

To qualify for the full state pension you have to have paid in for 30 years. However, as if you paid UK national insurance contributions in the 3 years you worked in the UK you would be entitled to 1/10th (or rather 3/30th) of the basic state pension, i.e. approximately £11.31 per week (the current full pension is £113.10 per week).

You can, however, make voluntary payments to top up your pension. Unfortunately, there are rules regarding voluntary payments - and as you would be considered to be of state retirement age (assuming you are a woman born in 1952) you would only be able to pay class 3 contributions for the last 6 years. Therefore you would still not be eligible for the full pension. [NB: if you had been born before 1950 you would had to have had a minimum of 10 years to qualify for a minimum pension.]

Also, whilst there are some countries which have agreements for UK nationals working there and their entitlement to transfer pension credits, Saudi is not one.

Here is the link to the government website to claim your pension - https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/how-to-claim - as they will not contact you automatically.

I hope this assists.