Two Caribbean financial centres are missing from the latest Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) List issued by HM Revenue & Customs.
St Lucia, with three QROPS and St Vincent & The Grenadines with a single QROPS are both suspended from the list.
HMRC declines to comment on QROPS suspended from the list, but the reasons can include:
- Temporary suspension for administrative reasons
- Suspension because the schemes breach QROPS rules
- The pension schemes have told HMRC they no longer qualify as QROPS
The St Lucia QROPS were first listed on July 7, 2008, while St Vincent & The Grenadines first scheme opened on April 5, 2007.
Besides the two missing QROPS jurisdictions, other suspended schemes include two in Barbados, one in Bulgaria, one in India, one in Sri Lanka and one in Trinidad and Tobago.
Meanwhile, 10 were added in Australia, three in Ireland and one each in Guernsey and Italy.
Overall, the number of QROPS schemes worldwide reached a new record high of 3,185 pensions – a gain of five over from the previous list published on October 4, 2013.
The number of QROPS centres dropped by two to 44.
The next QROPS list is due for publication on November 1, 2013.
QROPS List: October 1, 2013
Country | Scheme Count | Market Share |
---|---|---|
Australia | 1254 | 39.37% |
Austria | 9 | 0.28% |
Bangladesh | 1 | 0.03% |
Barbados | 2 | 0.06% |
Belgium | 22 | 0.69% |
Bulgaria | 3 | 0.09% |
Canada | 98 | 3.08% |
Czech Republic | 4 | 0.13% |
Denmark | 8 | 0.25% |
European Union | 1 | 0.03% |
Finland | 4 | 0.13% |
France | 40 | 1.26% |
Germany | 56 | 1.76% |
Gibraltar | 23 | 0.72% |
Greece | 1 | 0.03% |
Guernsey | 52 | 1.63% |
Hong Kong | 2 | 0.06% |
Hungary | 1 | 0.03% |
Iceland | 3 | 0.09% |
India | 26 | 0.82% |
Ireland | 736 | 23.11% |
Isle of Man | 229 | 7.19% |
Italy | 46 | 1.44% |
Jamaica | 2 | 0.06% |
Jersey | 135 | 4.24% |
Latvia | 1 | 0.03% |
Liechtenstein | 2 | 0.06% |
Luxembourg | 8 | 0.25% |
Malaysia | 1 | 0.03% |
Malta | 16 | 0.50% |
Mauritius | 2 | 0.06% |
New Zealand | 48 | 1.51% |
Norway | 7 | 0.22% |
Portugal | 23 | 0.72% |
Russian Federation | 1 | 0.03% |
South Africa | 31 | 0.97% |
Spain | 16 | 0.50% |
Sri Lanka | 1 | 0.03% |
St Lucia | 0.00% | |
St Vincent & The Grenadines | 0.00% | |
Sweden | 8 | 0.25% |
Switzerland | 137 | 4.30% |
The Netherlands | 105 | 3.30% |
Trinidad & Tobago | 2 | 0.06% |
Turkey | 3 | 0.09% |
USA | 15 | 0.47% |
Grand Total | 3185 | 100.00% |
Source: HMRC