Transfering Pension Into A Qrops Scheme,

[monkeytunes]

Ive just checked the value of my UK pension and as expected the values going down by the minute, so Ive been having a look around for some alternatives,

I know Qrops has been available since 2006 , but Ive only just come across it, Has anyone actually transfered there pensions into Qrops?

I could do with a better understanding of how it all works , can anyone give me a idiots proof breakdown into the + and - of transfering an exsisting UK pension into a Qrops scheme. Many thanks

[monkeytunes]

Has anyone got any knowledge about Qrops (Pretty lease), I get the feeling its not that popular by the lack response?;D

[monkeytunes]

Has anyone got any knowledge about Qrops (Pretty lease), I get the feeling its not that popular by the lack response?;D

[ArranP]

I looked at a Qualified Retirement Offshore Pension Scheme. Basically the QROPS itself is just wrapper, the underlying investments may or may not differ from your current pension scheme.

The QROPS may offer significant tax advantages depending on your circumstance, I think basically it allows you to change the tax-duristiction where the withdrawls are submitted ie offshore. Best bet is to contact a financial advisor, many can be found on the internet.

Don't quote me on any of these as I am not an expert and this is from memory, but I remember the following points

5 years after pension has been moved into a QROP, the provider is no longer obligated to report withdrawls to the HMRC.

Withdrawls can commence from age 50 onwards.

I think according to the GAD rules (which are also applied in the UK) upto 9 or 10% can be withdrawn each year for income purposes.

QROPS is a tax efficient wrapper around an investment product(s)

There were some QROPS schemes based out of Singapore closed down by the HMRC in june 2008 as (if I remember correctly) the providers allowed the QROPS holder(s) to withdraw ALL the funds straight away!

Edited December 17, 2008 by ArranP

[monkeytunes]

I looked at a Qualified Retirement Offshore Pension Scheme. Basically the QROPS itself is just wrapper, the underlying investments may or may not differ from your current pension scheme.

The QROPS may offer significant tax advantages depending on your circumstance, I think basically it allows you to change the tax-duristiction where the withdrawls are submitted ie offshore. Best bet is to contact a financial advisor, many can be found on the internet.

Don't quote me on any of these as I am not an expert and this is from memory, but I remember the following points

5 years after pension has been moved into a QROP, the provider is no longer obligated to report withdrawls to the HMRC.

Withdrawls can commence from age 50 onwards.

I think according to the GAD rules (which are also applied in the UK) upto 9 or 10% can be withdrawn each year for income purposes.

QROPS is a tax efficient wrapper around an investment product(s)

There were some QROPS schemes based out of Singapore closed down by the HMRC in june 2008 as (if I remember correctly) the providers allowed the QROPS holder(s) to withdraw ALL the funds straight away!

Thanks for the feedback, did you actually go ahead and transfer your pension into a Qrops scheme? Regards MT

[Spiny]

I am in the process of transferring my former employers lump sums from FPI / Norwich Union schemes to Aurora QROPS Quernsey scheme.

Started the process in July, still not completed yet.

http://www.aurora.gg/

[monkeytunes]

I am in the process of transferring my former employers lump sums from FPI / Norwich Union schemes to Aurora QROPS Quernsey scheme.

Started the process in July, still not completed yet.

http://www.aurora.gg/

Hello Spiny, can I ask what made you decide to go ahead, and did you come across any downside? thanks MT

[Spiny]

Wanted to gain more control, via my investment advisor, better slection of funds that FPI and Norwich

Also I am a long term resident and have PR here, just wanted to get it away from the Uk tax man

[monkeytunes]

Wanted to gain more control, via my investment advisor, better slection of funds that FPI and Norwich

Also I am a long term resident and have PR here, just wanted to get it away from the Uk tax man

Hi Spiny thanks again, how did you find them? do you know if they have a decent reputation?Regards MT

[biffa]

Look up atlantica pensions on the web. Not permitted to give www address but easy to find. First class service

Biffa

[biffa]

Usual www then atlanticapensions then com

Biffa

[ArranP]

I looked at a Qualified Retirement Offshore Pension Scheme. Basically the QROPS itself is just wrapper, the underlying investments may or may not differ from your current pension scheme.

The QROPS may offer significant tax advantages depending on your circumstance, I think basically it allows you to change the tax-duristiction where the withdrawls are submitted ie offshore. Best bet is to contact a financial advisor, many can be found on the internet.

Don't quote me on any of these as I am not an expert and this is from memory, but I remember the following points

5 years after pension has been moved into a QROP, the provider is no longer obligated to report withdrawls to the HMRC.

Withdrawls can commence from age 50 onwards.

I think according to the GAD rules (which are also applied in the UK) upto 9 or 10% can be withdrawn each year for income purposes.

QROPS is a tax efficient wrapper around an investment product(s)

There were some QROPS schemes based out of Singapore closed down by the HMRC in june 2008 as (if I remember correctly) the providers allowed the QROPS holder(s) to withdraw ALL the funds straight away!

Thanks for the feedback, did you actually go ahead and transfer your pension into a Qrops scheme? Regards MT

I did not go-ahead with the QROPS, I am 37 years of age, it turned out If I were to take the growth within the first 5 years of moving it offshore it would also have to be remitted to the UK HMRC.

I decided to pay the monies myself via a different route where I paid tax in the UK before moving offshore.

[laphroaig]

Depending on where in the world you are, there may be other benefits. For instance.

My UK Government scheme requires me to purchase an annuity at age 60 (I can commute 25% in cash for a reduced annuity benefit)

If I die, the annuity benefit is cut in half for my wife and when she dies, so will the benfit with no residual value.

If I transfer the full amount through a QROPS, I will have full access to the lump sum in five years time (due to my present age). I can invest this how I like. Actuarily, I believe that I can get a similar return with low risk investment to the annuity benefit by investing in the local market.

I can transfer the lump sum in UK pounds and convert at a time of my choosing to local currency. I have disposed of currency risk.

If I die the ownership is retained in its entirety. When my wife dies it is left in our estate in its entirety

[GuestHouse]

Out of curiosity, what is the Charge Structure for your transfer?

[laphroaig]

Out of curiosity, what is the Charge Structure for your transfer?

If you are asking me, then there is no charge. I am in the industry and will be doing the work myself. I do this as part of my job description for others.

The fees here generally however are based on the total money to be under management. It is usually set on a sliding scale, the more you bring over, the lower the % charge for the work.

As an example however, if one were to transfer maybe sterling of 200,000 as a one off transaction, you would expect to pay the sterling equivalent of maybe 4 - 6k in fees. If you were bringing over maybe 1 million, the work is no more although some will charge proportionately higher. Many of us tend to operate on a time and attendance basis although clients are sometimes reticent to take that option because they feel you will stuff them. In the first interview you get an idea as to whether it is likely to be a simple or a complicated case and ajdjust your fee as appropriate.

[monkeytunes]

Usual www then atlanticapensions then com

Biffa

Thanks Biffa, Ill take a look, MT

[Treborz]

I work for a firm that provides QROPS in Guernsey. It is being directed at existing clients for the time being and obviously i'm not permitted (and wouldnt intend to as i have no personal interest in the Company) to advertise it but if you have any specific questions about QROPS feel free to pm them to me or post them here and i'll try and answer them. The main benefits have been covered in the above posts however.

Singapore QROPS were closed down because they went "against the spirit" by allowing members to withdraw 100% as a lump sum as soon as they reached the qualifying age. Guernsey has just recently brought in legislation where a maximum of 25% can be withdrawn as a lump sum. The remainder must provide an income along the same lines as a UK based pension.

Edited January 9, 2009 by Treborz

[Khonwan]

My dealings with Concept Group in Guernsey in respect of their QROPS, Aurora, from mid-2008 through completion have been first class. I have no wish to go into details but gladly recommend them to anyone considering QROPS. I dealt with them directly since I had been an IFA with 20 years in the business “in a previous life”.

[chiang mai]

There was a time when I thought that QROPS was a good idea and in principle it still is, in practice however I am now very doubtful and this is why:

When you set up a pension scheme in the UK there are sufficient controls in place over the IFA's and pension companies to ensure that you get a reasonable level of advice, it's unlikely that you will get completely ripped off although there is always the risk of course that the fund doesn't perform as well as expected. Once you move outside of the Uk you leave the advice safety net and all policy holders become fair game and potential cannon fodder for anyone selling financial services and for unscrupulous and unregulated pension companies - Singapore is a good example. Another good example is the huge number of wanna be offshore IFA's who seek to capitalize on the current economic hardship of expats by tempting them into parting with their pensions. If you think that onshore UK IFA's are bad news then the offshore bunch are substantially worse, you can find good ones who are capable of giving sound advice but they are so far and few between as to make it almost impossible.

It's easy when you are say mid 30's or early 40's to view that pot of pension money as a very tempting target that can be re-earned later if it all goes wrong, it's less easy to take that view at age 50 or 55 because it probably can't be re-earned. It's also tempting to look at the annual return of these pension funds and think to yourself, bloody heck, a four per cent return, I could do better than that - I certainly used to feel that way and was very nearly tempted by QROPS. But then I woke up and realized that the risk for me was far too great and that the temptation of greed by "IFA's" even greater, I feel very lucky as a result. You need to think this whole subject through very very carefully before acting, my advice would be to not touch the fund unless you had absolutely exhausted every other means to raise cash and you very on the verge of being destitute else you may well regret your decision.

Edited January 13, 2009 by chiang mai

[Maximus33]

Depending on where in the world you are, there may be other benefits. For instance.

My UK Government scheme requires me to purchase an annuity at age 60 (I can commute 25% in cash for a reduced annuity benefit)

If I die, the annuity benefit is cut in half for my wife and when she dies, so will the benfit with no residual value.

If I transfer the full amount through a QROPS, I will have full access to the lump sum in five years time (due to my present age). I can invest this how I like. Actuarily, I believe that I can get a similar return with low risk investment to the annuity benefit by investing in the local market.

I can transfer the lump sum in UK pounds and convert at a time of my choosing to local currency. I have disposed of currency risk.

If I die the ownership is retained in its entirety. When my wife dies it is left in our estate in its entirety

Can I first say, that you are totally wrong that you can get the money in 5 years. Simply, you cannot take any more than 30% of the fund as cash, the rest must be used to provide an income. Can I ask why you didn't consider a UK SIPP which could have given you the same benefits but with the reasurance of the UK regulatory structure?

[Nouchka]

Ive just checked the value of my UK pension and as expected the values going down by the minute, so Ive been having a look around for some alternatives,

I know Qrops has been available since 2006 , but Ive only just come across it, Has anyone actually transfered there pensions into Qrops?

I could do with a better understanding of how it all works , can anyone give me a idiots proof breakdown into the + and - of transfering an exsisting UK pension into a Qrops scheme. Many thanks

Windsor pensions help me transfer my frozen UK pension to a QROPS. I left UK 2 years ago and could not contribute any longer to my pension scheme. The amount was shrinking so I contacting them and within 4 weeks the transfer was done.

[Maximus33]

Ive just checked the value of my UK pension and as expected the values going down by the minute, so Ive been having a look around for some alternatives,

I know Qrops has been available since 2006 , but Ive only just come across it, Has anyone actually transfered there pensions into Qrops?

I could do with a better understanding of how it all works , can anyone give me a idiots proof breakdown into the + and - of transfering an exsisting UK pension into a Qrops scheme. Many thanks

Windsor pensions help me transfer my frozen UK pension to a QROPS. I left UK 2 years ago and could not contribute any longer to my pension scheme. The amount was shrinking so I contacting them and within 4 weeks the transfer was done.

Hi I am interested to know where they recemmended you transfer and what charges were involved?

Thanks

[expatworld]

Hi,

I just transferred my pension with the-qrops-specialist dot com their charges were amongst the lowest and could not fault their service.

Good luck!

[expatworld]

Many UK expat have and are in the process of transferring into a Qrops, for obvious reasons. I used the qrops specialist and was very pleased with the result. Good luck!