Almost 100 Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) have been removed from the British tax man’s official list of offshore pensions.
The total number of QROPS worldwide stands at 1,205 – down 76 from 1,281 at the start of the month.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says 86 QROPS have been axed from the list and seven added.
Here is a breakdown of the changes:
- Italy has lost all 19 QROPS and has been removed as a financial centre from the QROPS List. Italy was the 11th largest QROPS centre before te latest QROPS List was published.
- Canada had the most pensions scrubbed – with 49 QROPS removed leaving just three open. The country was the world’s sixth largest financial centre from QROPS before the pensions were delisted.
- France had 10 QROPS removed, with a single offshore pension remaining.
- One scheme was removed in each of Guernsey, Ireland and Norway.
Meanwhile, Australia saw four new schemes open and Malaysia gained one.
Australia has most QROPS
HMRC declines to comment about pensions removed from the QROPS List.
Australia remains the world’s largest QROPS centre by number of pensions, with 346 schemes.
QROPS were introduced in April 2006 to help British expats manage their pensions from overseas.
HMRC publishes an updated list of QROPS every fortnight. UK pension firms and QROPS providers can only transfer money from UK pensions or other QROPS to schemes on the list.
The next QROPS List is due on December 1, 2016.
QROPS List By Financial Jurisdiction
| Financial jurisdiction | No of QROPS |
|---|---|
| Australia | 346 |
| Austria | 8 |
| Barbados | 1 |
| Belgium | 10 |
| Bulgaria | 2 |
| Canada | 3 |
| Czech Republic | 2 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| European Union | 1 |
| Finland | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Germany | 26 |
| Gibraltar | 51 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Guernsey | 143 |
| Hong Kong | 17 |
| Hungary | 1 |
| Iceland | 1 |
| India | 14 |
| Ireland | 85 |
| Isle of Man | 231 |
| Jamaica | 1 |
| Jersey | 84 |
| Kenya | 1 |
| Kosovo | 1 |
| Latvia | 3 |
| Liechtenstein | 3 |
| Luxembourg | 3 |
| Malta | 29 |
| Mauritius | 3 |
| Netherlands | 60 |
| New Zealand | 35 |
| Norway | 4 |
| Portugal | 4 |
| South Africa | 12 |
| Spain | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
| Sweden | 6 |
| Switzerland | 2 |
| Turkey | 2 |
| United States of America | 1 |
| Total: | 1205 |
Source: HMRC
The table shows the net number of schemes, accounting for new listings and removals since the publication of the last list.
