Uk Occupational Pension , Non -resident Status.

[taxexile]

my uk accountant has told me that when i reach 60 i will be able to draw my occupational pension.

he also told me that as i am a non resident of the uk , with this status having been accepted by the hmrc (inland revenue) and with my assets offshore , i will not have to pay uk taxes on this pension.

i find this surprising , seeing as it is income derived in the uk , and seeing also as my contributions to this pension were tax deductable i cant see how the inland revenue would allow such a thing.

i have tried to find some info on the net about this , but all i can come up with is a footnote that pensions may be taken tax free if you live in a country that has a double taxation arrangement with the uk , i believe that thailand might have such an arrangement with the uk , but i pay no taxes here either as i dont work here , and i have never heard of anyone paying thai tax on a foreign pension , but then again i have never heard of anyone receiving a tax free uk occupational pension

if i have to pay uk tax then so be it , but if it is true that i can take my occupational pension , paid offshore , tax free , then so much the better.

can anyone shed any light on this or direct me to the relevant rules before i start telling my accountant that he may be wrong ?

thanks.

Edited March 12, 2008 by taxexile

[JohnC]

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/retire...ncome-tax.asp#i

If you're a pensioner and you go to live abroad, you will still have to pay UK tax on your income from the UK. But you may be entitled to claim a personal allowance. If you go to live in a country that has a double taxation agreement with the UK, you may be able to pay less tax.

Double taxation agreements can mean that if you are living abroad you may pay less income tax in the UK. How much in tax you will have to pay will depend on your personal circumstances.

You can get a wide range of leaflets on income tax from HM Revenue & Customs. You may find leaflet IR121 Income tax and pensioners especially useful.

In addition you might want to look at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/

Finally a simple Google search would have given you thisd information!

[billd766]

At this time I live in Thailand and have done so since 2001.

I am in receipt of an armed forces pension and a company pension. I asked HMRC this same question and the reply was that even thougfh I am officially non resident my armed forced pension is taxable in the UK.

In the case of my company pension which as I was UK based though spent most of my time offshore as an expat is also taxable in the UK and there was no option.

In 2009 when I get my state pension this will also be taxable in the UK with no option to move it elsewhere with the dubious benefit of being frozen from the date of issue.

My company pension grew last year and gave me a whole £30 increase a yaer before tax.

Basically the government takes from me and gives no benefits at all,