• QROPS Help Centre, your definitive guide to finding the right qrops pension transfer. All areas covered from Spain to France and from Cyprus to New Zealand. Contact Us today for specialist advice in simple plain english.

    Specialist Help For USA Residents

    It is estimate that there are over 1.5 million British expats now living in the USA. A very large proportion of this number will never return to the UK. Choosing to live out their twilight years in sunnier climes.

     

     

    The USA is certainly a favourite destination for many UK ex-pats, however transferring a pension into QROPS is problematic for stateside residents as well as ex-pats.

    For the first time some QROPS is now available that tackles the necessary legal and administrative issues that have prevented US residents and nationals from picking up the tax and investment benefits or transferring to a QROPS.

    QROPS advisers do confirm that the HM Revenue and Customs listings of QROPS have included several US 401(k) pension schemes more or less from day one of April 2006. In principle QROPS transfers were available to US nationals living abroad along with UK ex-pats moving to the United States.

    It does remain that the HMRC’s counterpart in the USA namely the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) has so far refused to recognise QROPS transfers into a QROPS USA 401(k) pension by UK ex-pats living there. The reason for this they claim is that the QROPS structure is not legal.

    A similar no-go status was imposed on US nationals overseas who transferred from a 401(k) to a QROPS.

    QROPS 401(k) And IRA Transfers

    Both triggered IRS tax penalties on any funds that were transferred.

    This unfortunately is likely to tighten up further from January 2013 when the Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act comes into force. The Act will virtually bar all US residents and US nationals living outside the country from transferring their pensions into a QROPS.

    Although this complicates any QROPS transfers in or out of a 401(k) pension some providers have managed to re-structure the master trust that manages a QROPS into a USA-friendly legal entity.

    This is a legal alternative that opens QROPS USA investments as a two-way street between transferring from a UK pension to a US QROPS and likewise from a US 401(k) to an offshore QROPS.

    The framework is now in place, however QROPS USA is still tied up in red tape and successful transfers do require patience, specialist skills and expertise.

    The possibility of moving QROPS pension transfers for UK ex-pats living in the US does open a new world of investment opportunities that were once unavailable.

HMRC QROPS Pensions – Specialist Impartial Advice

As Qrops Specialists, lets try and simplify this very important subject so you can make better and more informed decisions about your long term financial planning.

If you have a UK frozen pension and you are now living overseas, you need to take a look at QROPS. To give it its full title a Qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme QROPS transfers have been around since 2006. They were forced on the UK government by one an EU directive.

The idea behind HMRC QROPS is quite simple if you meet the following criteria:

IF YOU
Intend to live abroad or are already resident abroad and have a UK pension

YOU CAN
Transfer that pension to another countries pension scheme providing it is qualified by the UK as being a QROPS approved country

WHERE YOU CAN
Take advantage of those countries “less restricted” rules to pensions. For example, in the UK, you cannot take out your pension until official UK retirement age yet if you transferred to a NZ pension fund, you can take out your pension as a lump sum BEFORE official retirement age…..that is the beauty of QROPS, it offers more flexibility with regard to your pensions than you would have leaving it in a UK scheme.

As you can appreciate it is not something welcomed by the UK Government. BUT for once, the EU have given you more control over your pension and how you want to manage it in your present lifetime.

NOTE: You do NOT have to live in the country you transfer your pension to!

The country you transfer it you does not have to be the same country you retire to. So, for example, you could retire to Spain but transfer your pension to a New Zealand QROPS scheme because they offer the best deal for you as to what you want from your pension, e.g a lump sum.

That’s where we come in. We at the QROPS Help Centre offer suitably qualified QROPS advisors that can look at your present pension, understand your requirements and then recommend a suitably recognised QROPS scheme that does what you want it to do whether that be a scheme in NZ, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle Of Man, etc.

Each country has their own rules on pension funds so the advisor scours the options available and selects the one that is right for you.

If You Are Going To Retire Soon, QROPS Could Be The Answer

They are great if you are about to retire to the USA, Spain, France, wherever or in fact if you already live outside the UK. A QROPS is like a UK pension on steroids. Anything good that a UK pension scheme can do once you leave the UK, a QROPS can do better. In fact, you would be mad not to have a QROPS given the extra benefits they give you. Some Additional Features of Transferring to a QROPS:

  • Bigger pension Fund.
  • No UK tax to pay.
  • A larger tax-free lump sum.
  • No UK death duties to pay.

So, if you have a UK pension and presently live abroad or intend to move abroad, fill out the simple form on the right hand side and we will get back to you with QROPS specialists suitably qualified to provide impartial pension advice and hopefully give you far more benefit with regard to your pension scheme in years to come.

QROPS Pensions – Worth Doing

The answer is an undoubted YES. A QROPS transfer is worth doing but must be undertaken at a realistic price that will allow your investment to grow at a rate higher than if you had left it in the UK.

This poses another question. How do I know if my QROPS will grow at a rate higher than if I had left my pension in the UK? This is where a thing called a TVA (Transfer Value Analysis) comes in. Any reputable IFA will undertake a TVA as part of the transfer process. This is a projection of what the QROPS could produce as a fund value at your retirement date. It clearly shows in financial terms how the proposed QROPS transfer compares to your existing UK pension scheme. Importantly it uses information supplied by your existing UK pension scheme including its costing structure. This is then directly compared to the proposed QROPS costing structure.

QROPS Pensions – A Summary

QROPS is something you need to look at if you are leaving the UK or you are already living outside the UK. QROPS was specifically constructed for you to hold your pension in and has many benefits. Always contact an IFA who can offer you a TVA. You will then have it in black and white whether a QROPS transfer if right for you. But remember never undertake a QROPS transfer without a TVA.

If you would like to arrange a no-obligation assessment of your UK pension including a TVA report, contact us by filling in the contact form on the site and we would be happy to give you a callback and discuss your requirements.

You want some answers to your Pension Questions.

It’s already complicated enough but let us give you some professional advice in simple plain English.

Then you can choose what is best for you!

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