Australia is streets ahead of the rest of the world by hosting four in every 10 Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS).
Providers open a QROPS on average every working day in Australia.
By number of QROPS, that gives the nation a massive 40.98% market share, which is almost double the 22.16% market share by number of QROPS for Ireland, in second place.
And the gap is even wider between the top two and the Isle of Man in third place, chalking up a 6.95% market share.
However, the measure does not include the amount of cash moved from onshore UK pensions into individual schemes, so although a country may have fewer schemes than another, the funds held could still add up to more.
Gibraltar QROPS
The dark horse in this year’s QROPS market has been Gibraltar, punching well above the weight of a small territory with a toehold on the Iberian Peninsula.
Providers there have opened 20 new QROPS in the past year after resolving tax issues with HMRC, pushing them into contention with much bigger players in the market with a share of just over 1%.
Besides Gibraltar, India and Malta have entered the QROPS top 10 for opening new schemes in recent months. Malta has eight new QROPS and India nine.
Lurking outside the top 10 are France and Italy.
France has 41 QROPS and has seen three new schemes open in the past year, while Italy has 47 and opened two new pensions in the last 12 months.
| QROPS - Top 10 Financial Centres | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Count of QROPS | |
| May 15, 2014 | May 15, 2015 | |
| Australia | 1145 | 1391 |
| Ireland | 706 | 752 |
| Isle of Man | 216 | 236 |
| Switzerland | 137 | 138 |
| Jersey | 133 | 136 |
| Netherlands | 102 | 108 |
| Canada | 94 | 100 |
| Guernsey | 43 | 68 |
| Germany | 53 | 56 |
| New Zealand | 44 | 55 |
| Total | 2673 | 3040 |
| Source: HMRC | ||
| QROPS - Top 10 Jurisdictions Adding Most QROPS | ||
| Year To | ||
| May 15, 2014 | May 15, 2015 | |
| Australia | 251 | 246 |
| Ireland | 46 | 46 |
| Guernsey | 26 | 25 |
| Isle of Man | 22 | 20 |
| Gibraltar | 19 | 20 |
| New Zealand | 11 | 11 |
| India | 9 | 9 |
| Malta | 8 | 8 |
| Canada | 6 | 6 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 6 |
| Total: | 404 | 397 |
| Source: HMRC | ||
| QROPS - Top 10 Jurisdictions by Market Share | ||
| Year To | ||
| May 15, 2014 | May 15, 2015 | |
| Australia | 41.00% | 40.98% |
| Ireland | 22.09% | 22.16% |
| Isle of Man | 6.96% | 6.95% |
| Switzerland | 4.07% | 4.07% |
| Jersey | 4.01% | 4.01% |
| Netherlands | 3.19% | 3.18% |
| Canada | 2.95% | 2.95% |
| Guernsey | 2.01% | 2.00% |
| Germany | 1.65% | 1.65% |
| New Zealand | 1.62% | 1.62% |
| Total: | 89.55% | 89.57% |
| Source: HMRC | ||
