Transferring pension between companies in the UK.

[alfieconn]

Due to my current pension company not allowing Flexi Access Drawdown, i am going to have to transfer the pension to another company.

A friend has advised me that being non-resident limits the amount of companies that will accept the transfer (money laundering etc) which i find a bit strange, therefore i was just wondering if anyone has any experience of this and if so what Company did you use ?

[GuestHouse]

I moved an AVC pension pot from Scottish Widows to Hargreaves Lansdown SIP while I was living and working in the Middle East, I wasn't asked to provide a UK address (but this may be because I already had an investment account at HL).

Be careful about moving your pension, you almost certainly have to pay a transfer fee and you may find you lose benefits in your existing scheme.

I have a second pension with Scottish Widows which provides a guaranteed annuity rate of 9% if I buy an annuity. My financial advisor tells me there are examples of private pensions that have (legacy) guarantees for their annuities of up to 15%.

Get a thorough check of what your benefits in the existing scheme are before you transfer.

[AyG]

I moved an AVC pension pot from Scottish Widows to Hargreaves Lansdown SIP while I was living and working in the Middle East, I wasn't asked to provide a UK address (but this may be because I already had an investment account at HL). HL will not open new accounts for non-residents.

Be careful about moving your pension, you almost certainly have to pay a transfer fee and you may find you lose benefits in your existing scheme.

I have a second pension with Scottish Widows which provides a guaranteed annuity rate of 9% if I buy an annuity. My financial advisor tells me there are examples of private pensions that have (legacy) guarantees for their annuities of up to 15%. It's these sorts of guarantees that brought down Equitable Life (and yes, I'm bitter). However, they are extremely valuable. Assuming that the amounts aren't trivial, pension transfers are one area where I'd always suggest consulting a UK IFA.

[Paul1952]

Have you looked at QROPS? They can be in any country (virtually) which could be a different on from the one you are resident in. If you are a UK citizen, moving it to a QROPS would free the fund from tax when you die and you could denominate it in your local currency which would protect you from exchange rate risk. There is a published list of these schemes on the HMRC website

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-qualifying-recognised-overseas-pension-schemes-qrops

You should make sure the QROPS you are going to is on this list otherwise it would attract an unauthorised payment charge of 55%.

Transfers are possible from both money purchase and final salary schemes, although the latter, and also any money purchase schemes with 'guarantees' need to be signed off by an IFA in the UK with the appropriate pensions transfer qualification.

Hope this helps.

[dabhand]

Have you looked at QROPS? They can be in any country (virtually) which could be a different on from the one you are resident in. If you are a UK citizen, moving it to a QROPS would free the fund from tax when you die and you could denominate it in your local currency which would protect you from exchange rate risk. There is a published list of these schemes on the HMRC website

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-qualifying-recognised-overseas-pension-schemes-qrops

You should make sure the QROPS you are going to is on this list otherwise it would attract an unauthorised payment charge of 55%.

Transfers are possible from both money purchase and final salary schemes, although the latter, and also any money purchase schemes with 'guarantees' need to be signed off by an IFA in the UK with the appropriate pensions transfer qualification.

Hope this helps.

What's the latest on flexi drawdown with QROPS?

I had understood that this was going to be allowed by HMRC prior to the Apr15 pension changes but a late backtrack suggests that most QROPS do not qualify for this option. Seems that only Malta based schemes (due to EU based rules) qualify but have tax related issues if based in countries without a DTA - don't believe Thailand has a DTA with Malta - so high tax rates might apply to withdrawals.

Gibraltar seems to be a reasonable location, with low tax, but does not appear to qualify for the flexi drawdown option. Is this likely to change anytime soon?

[AyG]

You should make sure the QROPS you are going to is on this list otherwise it would attract an unauthorised payment charge of 55%.

The converse, however, isn't true. There have been cases where people have transferred to a scheme on the list and subsequently been hit with the unauthorised payment charge after the scheme was delisted.

[GuestHouse]

You should make sure the QROPS you are going to is on this list otherwise it would attract an unauthorised payment charge of 55%.

The converse, however, isn't true. There have been cases where people have transferred to a scheme on the list and subsequently been hit with the unauthorised payment charge after the scheme was delisted.

There are far more people who took out a QROPS and got hit with on going multiple charges by their provider (and carpet bagging advisor), then sat helpless as their fund was depleted by charges allowed and unescapable under the contract they signed.