Dont believe the bad press about QROPS

By Pat Higham


It's about time somebody cleared up the bewilderment about how many retirement savers have switched their cash from the UK to an offshore QROPS scheme.

SIPPs provider AJ Bell is bandying about misguidance targeted at showing Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes transfers are declining "but then they might as the key losers in a qrops pension transfer are UK pension providers.

The truth is cash from around 19,122 UK pension schemes has transferred to a qrops pension between April 6, 2006 and April 5, 2010.

Where do the figures come from?

Shockingly, they came from information published by AJ Bell.

A while back, theSelf Invested Personal Pension provider got the quantity of transfers from the date qrops pension were introduced "A-day on April 6, 2006 "until April 5, 2008 - which came to 7,122 transfers.

Lately, AJ Bell released more QROPS figures making an attempt to show that the quantity of transfers is falling.

They exclaimed 6,263 transfers were made in 2008-09, followed by 5,659 in 2009-10.

Like any statistician will disagree, three successive figures moving in the same direction are wanted to make a trend, and this patient is still breathing and too alive to announce prematurely dead.

qrops pension executives "which, incidentally, AJ Bell aren't as they do not give advice or market Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes "will agree that the blip in figures comes from better guidance and management of Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes transfer as providers upgrade their systems and regulators clear up absurdities and plug tax rule loopholes.

The most recent move by HM Cash and Customs to incorporate an anti-avoidance rule in the next Finance Act is an illustrative example of how Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes rules are maturing.

With no regard for onshore pension providers making an attempt to rubbish QROPS to protect their market, the fact is Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes are here to stay.

Any ex pat or international employee living permanently overseas should consider a QROPS an important tax planning and retirement saving option, just as any UK resident should seriously look at what a SiPP can offer.

Both are complementary tools "Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes are an option for UK non-residents and SiPPs for UK residents. Neither is a total monetary solution for every pension customer.




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