Pension Transfers

Pension Transfers

There are many circumstances in which you may want to or even have to move the value of your retirement benefits from one arrangement to another;

1. Termination of employment when you move jobs,
2. The company pension scheme has been wound up,
3. May want to move to a more appropriate arrangement, for example if you have moved tax jurisdiction,
4. Consolidate a number of funds,
5. Look for better investment options or reduced charges.

There are different rules relating to the potential transferability of retirement benefits between;

1. Occupational Pension Schemes (company pensions)
2. Personal Pensions
3. PRSAs (Personal Retirement Savings Account)
4. PRB/BOB (Personal Retirement Bond or Buy-out Bond)
5. Overseas Transfers. Pensions from other tax jurisdictions eg UK

For overseas transfers pensions must be transferred into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

There are specific rules around these transfers, for example, If the transfer value is greater than £30,000 and coming from a Defined Benefit Scheme, then it is a UK mandatory requirement that the member receive independent financial advice from an advisor in the UK that is authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide a transfer value analysis.

Your financial adviser will help advise you what transfers are qualified or restricted for your pension arrangements.

If you have an overseas pension that you are considering transferring to Ireland find out today what are your options.