Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

UK PENSION TRANSFERS

UK PENSION TRANSFERS INFORMATION

As part of a holistic financial planning organisation, PTS Sterling specialise in transferring UK pensions to Australia and have established a strong reputation for seamless UK pension transfers to ROPS superannuation funds.

As part of your retirement planning strategy a UK pension often forms a significant component of your retirement plans, particularly with the current record high transfer values being offered by defined benefit pension schemes due to low interest rates.

Transferring UK pension benefits to Australia is complicated and comes with some significant benefits and risks. It is important that you seek specialist advice to ensure a pension transfer is suitable for you.

PTS Sterling provide an integrated solution that comprises of specialist UK FCA authorised advisers to enable the transfer of UK defined benefit pension schemes as well as UK Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) providers that provide flexibility to transfer your pension and optimise tax efficiency whilst maintaining a suitable investment strategy for funds that may need to remain in the UK.

For more information on whether a UK Pension Transfer might be suitable for you please click here to request a copy of our Ebook.
For a copy of our Financial Services Guide, please click here.

Sterling PTS Pty Ltd (ABN 50 641 285 538) and its Advisers are Authorised Representatives of Fortnum Private Wealth Ltd. Sterling PTS Pty Ltd’s Corporate Authorised Representative Number is 1284503.

AM I ELIGIBLE?

As a result of changes made by HMRC on 6 April 2015, only superannuation funds that specifically exclude members under the age of 55 currently meet the UK “Age Pension Test” and thus are able to be registered as a ROPS.

Due to this change a large number of existing Australian ROPS funds became ineligible to accept UK Pension Transfers. In addition, individuals under the age of 55 wishing to transfer their funds to Australia have to place their transfer value in a holding account, such as a UK SIPP.

Further changes from UK regulators also make it more difficult and complex to transfer from a UK Defined Benefit scheme. It is now a UK regulatory requirement for a defined benefit transfer of more than £30,000 that the member obtains advice from a UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Accredited Adviser, before the trustee of the fund will allow the transfer to proceed.

As part of the sweeping changes, the UK also introduced a 25% tax charge on transfers made to schemes whereby the QROPS is based in one country and the individual is resident in another. Therefore, as an Australian resident you would be liable to a 25% charge if you were to transfer your funds to a scheme outside of Australia.

SHOULD I CONSIDER TRANSFERRING MY UK PENSION?

Transfer Value (GBP):SMSF Already in PlaceSMSF Not Currently in Place
Less than £80,000Not a cost-effective exerciseNot a cost-effective exercise
£80,000 – £100,000Transferring may be an option for youNot a cost-effective exercise
Greater than £100,000Transferring may be an option for youTransferring may be an option for you

WHY TRANSFER?

QROPS

A Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) is a superannuation fund that is recognised by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as being eligible to receive a UK pension fund. The rules relating to QROPS funds were established in 2006 and designed to ensure UK pension funds transferred offshore continue to be held in an equivalent retirement vehicle to a UK pension.

You must transfer your UK pension into a QROPS as pensions transferred into a non-qualifying fund will be deemed an ‘unauthorised payment’ and taxed at 40%. An additional surcharge of 15% may also apply in some circumstances.

On 6 April 2017, HMRC made some significant changes that impacted many Australian QROPS funds and resulted in the removal of most superannuation funds that can accept UK pension transfers. To be registered as a ROPS a fund, HMRC has implemented a Pension Age Test which prevents members under age 55 from being able to establish a QROPS fund. In addition, a QROPS fund will also need to meet certain regulatory requirements and tax recognition tests. To this end, there are currently limited superannuation options available in Australia to receive your UK pension transfer.

If you are under the age of 55 and have received a transfer value from your UK scheme and you would like to understand your options, please contact us. Whilst you may not be able to establish a QROPS fund in Australia to receive your UK fund, it is possible to hold your fund in a UK Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) until you meet the requirements to transfer your funds to Australia.