Gibraltar was the talking point of QROPS this year following the suspension of Singapore from the market in 2008 over allegations of tax avoidance.
QROPS providers in Gibraltar voluntarily declined to accept any further pension transfers because of a dispute with HM Revenue and Customs over whether a 2.5% tax on pension payments was really a tax or just a device to make QROPS look attractive.
The risk for Gibraltar, which had 10 QROPS was that HMRC would declare the tiny British Overseas Territory a rogue financial centre and close down the fledgling international pensions business.
HMRC also need to show QROPS provides and foreign regulators that they must stick to the pension rules, so was taking a stricter stand against firms operating in grey areas.
This resulted in a stand-off for both sides and years of negotiations before the issue would be resolved.
How the QROPS market grew
Meanwhile, for the rest of the world, the number of QROPS just kept growing.
At the start of 2009, the market was 1,503 QROPS across 47 financial centres.
By the end of the year, that number was 40% up to 2,110 pensions in 48 financial centres.
China, which has hosted two QROPS since June 2007, pulled out of the market, but Slovakia, with four QROPS, and Greece with two, were added.
Australia took over as the financial centre with the most QROPS – up 46% to 579, while Ireland to continue to expand, adding 81 QROPS to go to 580 in total.
Other growing markets by number of QROPS were Guernsey, up 77% to 186; the Isle of Man up 47% to 146, Jersey up 74% to 118 and Switzerland, up 21% to 113.
QROPS Year by Year Summary
We review and summarise the QROPS news for each year from the launch of QROPS to now. Click on the below links to read:
QROPS OFFSHORE PENSIONS AFTER 10 YEARS
QROPS 2006 – A-Day Launches New Offshore Pension
QROPS 2007 – A Year Of Explosive Growth
QROPS 2008 – HMRC Cracks Down On Rogue Pensions
QROPS 2010 – Singapore Legal Challenge Launched
QROPS 2011 – Rooting Out The Rogues
QROPS 2012 – Hundreds of Pensions Delisted
QROPS 2013 – HMRC Humiliated In High Court
QROPS 2014 – Flexible Access On the Way
QROPS 2015 – No One Foresaw The Pension Age Test
QROPS 2016 – The Story So Far… But Not The End
Further QROPS Information and Guidance
For more information about QROPS and the benefits it provides, download the iExpats QROPS Guide or complete the Get Advice form.