Expats waiting to switch cash into an offshore QROPS pension will have to wait a little longer as HM Revenue & Customs misses a self-imposed deadline.
Retirement savers cannot move money from a UK pension to a QROPS or between QROPS because HMRC has suspended publication of the list of pensions self-certifying they meet the scheme rules.
And HMRC is not sure when the new list will be available, saying publication will come ‘as soon as possible’ while offering no reason for the delay.
To move savings without confirming the receiving pension was a QROPS and on the list would incur a penalty.
HMRC gave notice the list would be suspended on June 2 – and pledged to publish a new list on June 5.
Hundreds of QROPS culled
The deadline was missed and so far, no new list has been posted on the HMRC website.
The list was last suspended in April 2017, when 410 QROPS were removed from the list along with nine financial centres.
The last list was published on May 15, naming 926 QROPS pensions from 29 financial centres.
“You can’t rely on previous lists as notification by a pension scheme to HMRC,” says HMRC.
“The requirements to be a QROPS changed from 6 April 2017. HMRC has written to scheme managers of some qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) requesting information about their scheme and to confirm that their QROPS meets the revised requirements.
Pension abuse
“Schemes won’t appear on the list when it returns on 5 June 2017 if HMRC has not received a response from the scheme manager by 1 June 2017, or the scheme manager’s response indicates that the scheme no longer meets the conditions to be a QROPS
“It remains your responsibility to check the list and to find out if you have to pay tax on any transfer of pension savings.”
QROPS are specialist pensions for British expats and foreign workers who have pension savings in the UK.
In recent years, HMRC has tightened the rules to try to stop ‘abuse’ of the system and industry experts expect to see fewer QROPS and financial centres offering them as a result of the current list suspension.
