Retirement

QROPS List – April 18, 2017

More than 400 QROPS pensions were culled and nine financial centres lost QROPS status as the HM Revenue and Customs rule change deadline passed on April 13.

Only two new schemes joined the official HMRC QROPS List – in the USA and Bulgaria.

America joined the list for the first time since March 1.

A total of 410 QROPS were delisted – taking the total worldwide down from 1,342 on April 6 to 932.

The delistings follow a rule change by HMRC and the UK Treasury demanding all QROPS could only accept transfers from UK pension funds if they are regulated in the country where they are administered.

If the scheme is not regulated, then the provider cannot offer the QROPS outside the European Economic Area and must ringfence 70% of any tax-relieved contributions to provide pension benefits to scheme members.

The delisted QROPS pensions for expats

Financial centres losing QROPS status as all their pensions were delisted were:

  • Czech Republic
  • Greece
  • Iceland
  • Jamaica
  • Kosovo
  • Portugal
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sweden
  • Turkey

Guernsey was the financial centre to suffer the most QROPS losses with 100 schemes delisted.

Other centres to suffer big losses were:

  • Australia (-89)
  • The Netherlands (-44)
  • Ireland (-38)
  • Jersey (-36)
  • Guernsey (-20)
  • Isle of Man (-15)

Other financial centres with delisted QROPS are:

  • South Africa and Belgium (-8 each)
  • Gibraltar (-7)
  • New Zealand and Sweden (-6 each)
  • Austria and Portugal (-4 each)
  • India and Norway (-3 each)
  • Czech Republic, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta and Turkey (-2 each)
  • Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Jamaica, Kosovo, Mauritius, Spain, Sri Lanka and Switzerland (-1 each)

The next HMRC QROPS List is due on May 1, 2017.

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

CountryNo of QROPS
Australia353
Austria5
Barbados1
Belgium1
Bulgaria3
Denmark1
European Union1
Finland1
Germany7
Gibraltar44
Guernsey52
Hong Kong21
Hungary1
India13
Ireland47
Isle of Man241
Jersey48
Kenya1
Latvia3
Liechtenstein1
Luxembourg2
Malta33
Mauritius2
Netherlands13
New Zealand30
Norway1
South Africa3
Spain1
Switzerland1
United States1
Total:932

Source: HMRC

The table shows the net number of schemes, accounting for new listings and removals since the publication of the last list.

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