You may well be forgiven for thinking that transferring your UK pension overseas was no longer an option following the clampdown and changes imposed by HMRC in April which effectively saw the closure of Guernsey as a QROPS jurisdiction. HMRC had threatened for some time to do something about the various abuses taking place in the market which had seen unscrupulous brokers promoting 100% cash commutation of pension funds, or early encashment under the age of 55, or both. Unfortunately for Guernsey a “manufactured” tax regime was a step too far for HMRC mindful that other jurisdictions might well re- invent themselves as QROPS friendly destinations y tinkering with their local tax rules.
So why would you want to consider transferring your pension? Well, first of all if you are living in Spain it is possible to reduce the tax you pay on your private pension income to around 2.5%. Yes that is right 2.5% compared with 20%, 40% or even 50% in the UK. Second it may be possible to avoid a tax charge of 55% that would apply on your death if your beneficiaries were to take a lump sum from your UK pension fund and third if your retirement fund is not being properly managed and is languishing in some poor performing funds that bear no reference to your actual risk profile would it not make sense to get some proper investment advice from a company that really takes care of its clients and manages their retirement funds in a pro active way.
And what if you have already moved your pension and are now concerned that it is in the wrong jurisdiction or that have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire by choosing an adviser who doesn’t actively manage your retirement funds but passes them onto a third party and then abdicates responsibility for any of the investment decisions. Or worse still they told you that they would review your investments on a regular basis and you are still waiting to hear from them. Not a problem we can potentially transfer your QROPS to a more favourable jurisdiction and we can certainly provide you with ongoing investment and financial advice moving forward
What would you rather do? Leave your pension in the UK unmanaged and pay higher taxes or carry on with the poor QROPS advice you have been given to date. Or choose the third option by calling our QROPS helpline on Tel: 956 796 911 or emailing wealth@fiduciarywealth.gi One of our retirement planning specialists will arrange to meet with you to discuss what you are looking to achieve from your pension, arrange for the paperwork to be completed and move forward from there. Just think your pension problems could be on the way to being solved just by picking up the phone now.
