Changes to QROPS Coming in Wake of “Secret” HMRC QROPS Statement
London, UK (PRWEB UK) 31 July 2013 -- According to iExpats.com, on Friday the 12th of July, lawyers working on behalf of HMRC filed a policy statement on QROPS to the High Court in London.
The contents of the document have yet to be made public, leading to speculation that changes to the overseas pensions industry and QROPS are imminent.
David Retikin, Director of Operations at Pryce Warner International Group, commented: “It is extremely disappointing that this policy statement has been filed in secret. It is vital to the industry that any upcoming changes are made public so that companies can expat’s pension policies are not unduly harmed by sudden new regulations. Given the nature of the court case that led to the submission of this policy, it is highly likely that changes to QROPS will come into force very shortly. Unfortunately, until the document is made public and the case resolved, the industry will have to wait to find out exactly what they are. At this stage, the most likely scenario is that stricter monitoring of the ‘approved QROPS’ list published by HMRC will come into force.”
Previous changes to QROPS regulations led to the de-listing of over 300 schemes in Guernsey, as that jurisdiction could no longer comply with HMRC’s demands.
The QROPS industry recovered from this quickly, however by migrating the vast majority of those schemes to Malta where there is a much stronger local regulator that enjoys close co-operation with HMRC.
At this time, expats that have or are interested in starting a QROPS overseas pension should speak to qualified advisors to ensure that their pension will not be unduly affected by any new changes.
Ant Standring, Pryce Warner International Group, http://www.prycewarner.com, 00-44-207-735-5885, [email protected]
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