Monthly Archives

February 2015

Guernsey to enable transfers with fully flexible QROPS

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Guernsey QROPS will benefit from full flexibility following a legislative change that will enable policyholders locked into schemes on the island to transfer funds into other jurisdictions.

The crown dependency’s deputy treasury minister, Jan Kuttelwascher, said its treasury and resources department intends to propose an amendment to income tax law allowing inward transfers to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) the same flexibility as the jurisdiction from which the funds originate.

The will ensure Guernsey’s compatibility with the full QROPS flexibility announced by the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs in December last year.

“Such a change would enable members in a Guernsey pension scheme that has QROPS status access to the same pension flexibility offered by the UK, and would extend both to transfers already made and to future transfers into a Guernsey personal pension scheme,” said Kuttelwascher.

Stephen Ainsworth, president of Guernsey’s Association of Pension Providers, said the news will remove Guernsey policyholders’ fears that they would not be granted full flexibility because of the restriction on transfers to QROPS with more flexible payment arrangements.

“We learned last December that pension flexibility would be available to QROPS, and now Guernsey has confirmed that local rules will be relaxed to enable this flexibility to be applied to QROPS transfers to Guernsey schemes in the same way as it will be applied in the UK,” he said.

He added that if a policyholder did still want to transfer to a QROPS scheme in another jurisdiction, “they should now be able to do so”. Read more

 

 

Queries regarding Guernsey flexibility and transfers out

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Concept is very much aware that there is currently considerable speculation and in parts some misinformation in the marketplace concerning flexible access to pensions, the UK changes taking effect in April 2015, the taxation of such flexibility and the ability to transfer out of Guernsey schemes in the future.

Unfortunately, legislative announcements from the UK do not include any guidance on how pensions flexibility will be taxed for overseas schemes post April 2015.  We also are unaware what flexibility overseas schemes will actually offer.  We are aware that in Gibraltar and Malta legislative changes have occurred to allow QROP scheme providers to reflect UK flexibility but as yet no providers have announced what flexibility they will offer, using what process or at what cost.

In Guernsey, providers have been in discussions with local Government as to what changes will provide the best options for members of Guernsey schemes. Some form of flexibility is expected and it is highly unlikely that any form of general restriction would be imposed by Guernsey authorities on transfers out, contrary to some misinformation being circulated by competitor schemes in other jurisdictions.

Concept change of address

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Please note that following our temporary relocation, we are now permanently based at the below address:

First Floor
Cambridge House
Le Truchot
St Peter Port
Guernsey
GY1 1WD

The office will be closed today (Friday 6th February) for the move back.

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