By Geriant Davies
Geraint Davies is Managing Director of Montfort International - a UK based financial advisory firm that provides advice to migrants and specializes in Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).
Pension advice delivered to those exiting the UK is exceedingly complex. It is considered in UK as the most complex retirement planning advice there is – yet it is an option for all UK persons who are not drawing from a final salary or have purchased an annuity.
It is, contrary to popular belief, no longer about shifting a pension to Australia. Sesame, the UKs largest financial services provider have told its 3000 member team of advisers last December (2010) to formally prohibit their use of QROPS due to the complications and pitfalls associated with it.
I get a lot of enquiries from advisers who choose not to advise in this area. However, in recent time there have been new entrants into the market who lack the experience, ethics and knowledge to explore this arena.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have recently established a specialist team to tackle QROPs abuse. You can read about it here.
Australia and New Zearland are under the spotlight. At Montfort we have been aware of these issues for a long time and our guidance always factors in the HRMC policy.
Click on the links below for some more articles which include some changes in the offing
