Behind the scenes activity in the Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) market has seen a big change in the number of offshore pensions available for expats.
In the most hectic two weeks for QROPS for a long time, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reports 42 new pensions opened, while 20 were removed from the HMRC QROPS List and the details of two amended.
The net number of QROPS grew from 1,251 at the start of the month to 1,276 pensions offered in 42 financial jurisdictions.
Net additions were filed for Australia (24); Gibraltar (1); Guernsey (2); the Isle of Man (12); Malta (1) and Switzerland (1).
Losses were posted for Austria (1); Belgium (3); France (1); Ireland (6), Jersey (2), Luxembourg (1), the Netherlands (1) and Norway (1).
Leading QROPS centres
Australia (326) is the financial jurisdiction with the most available QROPS, followed by the Isle of Man (230) and Guernsey (145). The three centres account for 55% of QROPS available worldwide.
The statistics come from the official HMRC QROPS List, which is published every two weeks.
The list details all worldwide QROPS that have self-certified that they meet the offshore pension qualification rules.
UK pension firms and QROPS providers can only transfer pension funds to listed schemes.
HMRC plans to publish the next QROPS List on October 1, 2016.
For more information about QROPS and the benefits it provides, download the iExpats QROPS Guide or complete the Get Advice form.
QROPS List By Financial Jurisdiction
| Financial Jurisdiction | No of QROPS |
|---|---|
| Australia | 326 |
| Austria | 7 |
| Barbados | 1 |
| Belgium | 10 |
| Bulgaria | 2 |
| Canada | 61 |
| Czech Republic | 2 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| European Union | 1 |
| Finland | 1 |
| France | 11 |
| Germany | 30 |
| Gibraltar | 51 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Guernsey | 145 |
| Hong Kong | 15 |
| Hungary | 1 |
| Iceland | 1 |
| India | 11 |
| Ireland | 85 |
| Isle of Man | 230 |
| Italy | 19 |
| Jamaica | 1 |
| Jersey | 85 |
| Kenya | 1 |
| Kosovo | 1 |
| Latvia | 3 |
| Liechtenstein | 3 |
| Luxembourg | 3 |
| Malta | 28 |
| Mauritius | 3 |
| Netherlands | 62 |
| New Zealand | 36 |
| Norway | 5 |
| Portugal | 4 |
| South Africa | 12 |
| Spain | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
| Sweden | 6 |
| Switzerland | 2 |
| Turkey | 2 |
| United States of America | 2 |
| Total: | 1276 |
Source: HMRC
The table shows the net number of schemes, accounting for new listings and removals since the publication of the last list.
