Pension provider Boal hopes investors won’t turn a blind eye to their new Trafalgar Gibraltar Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).
The Trafalgar is the Isle of Man based firm’s first Gibraltar QROPS.
The scheme is authorised by the Gibraltar Commissioner of Income Tax and was added to HM Revenue and Customs self-certified QROPS list in May.
Boal’s strategy is to offer QROPS customers – British expats and international workers with UK pension rights – the choice between transferring their pensions to the Isle of Man or Gibraltar.
Reasons for choosing Gibraltar
Trafalgar offers flexible investment choices with a range of fees, including:
- Preferential rates for buying investment bonds from Skandia International or Friends Provident
- Standard fees across a range of other offshore bonds and approved platforms
- A QROPS lite option for pension transfers totalling less than £75,000
- A launch offer discounting initial fees to £695 for the Trafalgar QROPS and £495 for the Trafalgar QROPS Lite
Boal has 10 FT Global 500 firms among many multinational corporations receiving pension advice, with more than $1.2 billion funds under management from investors across 110 countries.
“We chose Gibraltar for our new QROPS after looking at several international finance centres vying as QROPS jurisdictions,” said managing director Gary Boal.
“Not all made the cut or equalled what’s already on offer in the Isle of Man. But Gibraltar came up to the mark when agreeing pension rules that met HMRC guidelines. That led us to start a six-month project, culminating in opening a company in Gibraltar and launching Trafalgar.”
The firm also hinted other Gibraltar QROPS may be on the way.
New Malta QROPS
Gibraltar has seen eight new QROPS open in the past year – bringing the number of schemes based on the Mediterranean rock up to 18.
One of the main reasons for the jurisdiction’s success was the introduction of a 2.5% tax on pension payments last year, instead of a 0% tax rate in place in previous years.
Meanwhile, HM Revenue and Customs has added two new Malta QROPS to the list of self-certified providers.
Trireme Pensions Services (Malta) has launched the Voyager Retirement Plan and the Pioneer Retirement Plan.
Both are open to transfers from British expats or international workers with UK pension rights – including those connected with the US.
A number of discretionary asset managers have been appointed which can be selected by scheme members to manage their pension assets according to their individual risk profile.
The QROPS are licensed by the Maltese Financial Services Authority.
To find out more about the benefits of transferring a UK pension to a Malta based QROPS, contact the advisers at www.Qrops-Malta.com
