International & Domestic Pension Advice

QROPS

AA QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme) is an HMRC recognised pension transfer scheme that meets the same requirements and criteria as a UK pension. Most UK pensions can be easily transferred into a QROPS provided that the overseas scheme is registered with HMRC (Recognised).

In today’s business world it is rare for a person to work at a single company for their entire professional life. And it is common for clients to have more than one pension plan in place. A QROPS allows a person to round up these separate funds and place them all together into a single, more efficient arrangement. This not only provides the benefit of simplified record keeping but can also greatly reduce the costs of administration incurred by having multiple accounts.

Utilising a QROPS can be advantageous for many reasons, including:

• Reduction of income tax
• After 5 tax years of non-UK residence, the UK payment rules no longer apply, which allows the remainder of your fund to pass along to your beneficiaries upon death without any UK income or IHT being due.
• Funds enrolled in a QROPS can remain invested as long as the client wishes; there is no requirement to purchase an annuity.
• Greater flexibility in investments
• A QROPS gives you the power to choose from a much wider selection of investment vehicles than a standard UK registered pension. While UK pensions are almost always denominated in sterling, a QROPS allows you to invest in assets denominated in many various currencies, and receive payments in the local currency- thereby eliminating exchange rate fluctuation risk as well as currency conversion charges.
• Pension Commencement Lump Sum up to 30%
• Consolidate multiple existing plans.

Most UK pension schemes place a limit of 25% on the lump sum that can be taken on retirement. A QROPS allows a more generous lump sum of 30%, and, dependent upon the growth of the fund and local pension rules, many other options for even larger payouts. While providing an income is the purpose of a pension, a QROPS allows for much greater control and choice in how and when that income is administered.