- Home » Expat News » Are QROPS transfers available to British expats in the USA
Are QROPS transfers available to British expats in the USA
| Published: | 11 Jul at 6 PM |
Want to get involved?
Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
As the world gets smaller, many more Brits are heading to the USA, leaving their pensions back in the home country.
Given the present chaos and uncertainty in the British pension system, migrants to America might well be less than happy about leaving a large proportion of their lifetime savings several thousand miles away. The good news is that it’s possible to transfer pension savings into a QROPS whilst living and working or retiring in the USA.
Many investment-savvy expats feel they have cause for concern over the safety of their pension savings due to the immense changes taking place in the UK pensions sector and fears of the massive deficit facing the entire industry. Fortunately, previous complications regarding transfers due to IRS rulings have now been eased by double-tax treaties between the USA and successful QROPS jurisdictions such as Malta.
Double-taxation agreements enable UK-based pension transfers to be offset against foreign tax credits, meaning that income from a flexible overseas pension is not deemed taxable by the IRS. With a Malta-based QROPS, pensioners can be sure that there’s no liability for tax in the UK, no growth tax and greater investment choices.
On retirement, 30 per cent of the entire sum can be taken tax-free, and currency fluctuations can be avoided by electing to have income transferred to a US account in dollars. Of course, the remainder of the entire fund can be willed to your dependents.
The way forward is to contact a USA-registered financial advisor specialising in QROPS transfers, remembering to check the registration with the US financial authority. Nowadays, QROPS is a huge, popular financial product for expats in the USA.
Given the present chaos and uncertainty in the British pension system, migrants to America might well be less than happy about leaving a large proportion of their lifetime savings several thousand miles away. The good news is that it’s possible to transfer pension savings into a QROPS whilst living and working or retiring in the USA.
Many investment-savvy expats feel they have cause for concern over the safety of their pension savings due to the immense changes taking place in the UK pensions sector and fears of the massive deficit facing the entire industry. Fortunately, previous complications regarding transfers due to IRS rulings have now been eased by double-tax treaties between the USA and successful QROPS jurisdictions such as Malta.
Double-taxation agreements enable UK-based pension transfers to be offset against foreign tax credits, meaning that income from a flexible overseas pension is not deemed taxable by the IRS. With a Malta-based QROPS, pensioners can be sure that there’s no liability for tax in the UK, no growth tax and greater investment choices.
On retirement, 30 per cent of the entire sum can be taken tax-free, and currency fluctuations can be avoided by electing to have income transferred to a US account in dollars. Of course, the remainder of the entire fund can be willed to your dependents.
The way forward is to contact a USA-registered financial advisor specialising in QROPS transfers, remembering to check the registration with the US financial authority. Nowadays, QROPS is a huge, popular financial product for expats in the USA.
Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...
Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!
