Another 26 Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) were opened by offshore pension providers during the past two weeks, according to the latest official figures.
The HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) QROPS List shows the total number of QROPS is at a peak of 3,742 across 45 financial jurisdictions worldwide, compared with 3,716 on the last list published two weeks ago.
Australia saw 17 of the new schemes, while four opened in Ireland, two in Canada and one each in Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.
No schemes were delisted.
Year-on-year, 286 new QROPS are available in Australia, the leading financial jurisdiction for the offshore pensions.
Market leader
Australia hosts 1,661 schemes, or a market share of 44% by number of QROPS.
India saw the most schemes delisted in the year – dropping from 27 to 11 on the current list.
Overall, 406 new QROPS opened and 28 were delisted during the year.
Delisting can happen for a number of reasons, such as a fund transfer out of a single member scheme, someone dying in a single member scheme or for administrative reasons. These would include the scheme failing to qualify as a QROPS.
HMRC does not release the details of why schemes are delisted.
The next official QROPS list is due for publication on April 15, 2015.
| QROPS List - April 1, 2015 | |
|---|---|
| Financial jurisdiction | Number of schemes |
| Australia | 1661 |
| Austria | 11 |
| Barbados | 2 |
| Belgium | 24 |
| Bulgaria | 3 |
| Canada | 95 |
| Czech Republic | 3 |
| Denmark | 9 |
| European Union | 1 |
| Falkland Islands | 1 |
| Finland | 3 |
| France | 37 |
| Germany | 55 |
| Gibraltar | 46 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Guernsey | 91 |
| Hong Kong | 3 |
| Hungary | 1 |
| Iceland | 3 |
| India | 11 |
| Ireland | 788 |
| Isle of Man | 236 |
| Italy | 50 |
| Jamaica | 2 |
| Jersey | 141 |
| Kenya | 1 |
| Kosovo | 1 |
| Latvia | 3 |
| Liechtenstein | 4 |
| Luxembourg | 10 |
| Malta | 22 |
| Mauritius | 2 |
| Netherlands | 119 |
| New Zealand | 57 |
| Norway | 8 |
| Portugal | 23 |
| Russian Federation | 1 |
| South Africa | 32 |
| Spain | 16 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
| Sweden | 7 |
| Switzerland | 139 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2 |
| Turkey | 3 |
| United States of America | 13 |
| Grand Total | 3742 |
| Source: HMRC | |
