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Whitehall attempts expat reassurance on post-Brexit pension payments
| Published: | 21 Sep at 6 PM |
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Reports that British expats in Europe may lose access to their pensions post-Brexit are being denied as untrue by the UK Pensions Minister.
Claims that British retirees in Europe will be unable to access their pension payments are being denied in a statement by the government’s Pensions Minister Guy Opperman. The statement says the rights of British expatriates to receive their pensions will remain unchanged, even in the case of a no-deal Brexit, as an agreement which will stand until 2020 has been reached with EU negotiators. The agreement upholds current terms which will remain unchanged during the transition period, but does not specifically apply the agreement to a no-deal Brexit.
It seems that EU and UK retirees will be able to transfer their pensions to overseas schemes, whilst British expats will be able to transfer their pensions to a UK scheme. However, technical papers issued by the British government highlighting potential problems caused by a no-deal exit from the EU state British retirees living in the EU may lose access to their annuity payments. In addition, insurances such as private health cover, deposit services and loan services may well be threatened, and the majority of pension timelines are likely to extend beyond the transitional period, putting even those schemes protected for now under further threat post-2020.
UK-based pension providers are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as regards ensuring their clients aren’t left without essential regular payments. Companies face either paying out millions to ensure compliance with their legal obligations, whilst not knowing whether or not the worst scenario will happen. Even the act of transferring policies to an EU-based subsidiary would cost huge amounts as well as needing legal opinions and court processes, with the UK Pensions Minster’s statement seemingly not providing reassurance or direction.
Claims that British retirees in Europe will be unable to access their pension payments are being denied in a statement by the government’s Pensions Minister Guy Opperman. The statement says the rights of British expatriates to receive their pensions will remain unchanged, even in the case of a no-deal Brexit, as an agreement which will stand until 2020 has been reached with EU negotiators. The agreement upholds current terms which will remain unchanged during the transition period, but does not specifically apply the agreement to a no-deal Brexit.
It seems that EU and UK retirees will be able to transfer their pensions to overseas schemes, whilst British expats will be able to transfer their pensions to a UK scheme. However, technical papers issued by the British government highlighting potential problems caused by a no-deal exit from the EU state British retirees living in the EU may lose access to their annuity payments. In addition, insurances such as private health cover, deposit services and loan services may well be threatened, and the majority of pension timelines are likely to extend beyond the transitional period, putting even those schemes protected for now under further threat post-2020.
UK-based pension providers are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as regards ensuring their clients aren’t left without essential regular payments. Companies face either paying out millions to ensure compliance with their legal obligations, whilst not knowing whether or not the worst scenario will happen. Even the act of transferring policies to an EU-based subsidiary would cost huge amounts as well as needing legal opinions and court processes, with the UK Pensions Minster’s statement seemingly not providing reassurance or direction.
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