Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) QROPS list is a public resource that tells pension scheme administrators, financial advisers and investors if a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme meets the conditions to be a QROPS and has asked to be included on the list.  HMRC QROPS list is published by the Pension Schemes Services (PSS) on the 1^st and 15^th day of each month (and available for download from the HMRC website) detailing the schemes contained, and any revisions if new schemes are added and/or removed for example, where fraudulent activity is suspected.

We note that the latest HMRC QROPS list (dated 15 April 2015) changed the wording of its disclaimer to read as follows:

“This list contains some of the overseas entities that have told HMRC they are Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (ROPS) under section 169(2) Finance Act 2004 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can’t guarantee these are ROPS or that any transfers to them will be free of UK tax. It is your responsibility to find out if you have to pay tax on any transfer of pension savings.”

The word “qualifying” from Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) has been removed from HMRC QROPS list and now refer only to ROPS (Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes).  The list can only indicate whether the ‘Q’ of the QROPS is met, not whether the scheme is a ROPS, which is a matter of fact.
 
HMRC QROPS list also mentions that “accessing benefits (directly or indirectly) before age 55 will result in a liability to UK tax charges in all but the most exceptional circumstances.”  This reflects the changes made this year, which extended the minimum age of 50 to 55 to all schemes including those such as QROPS Malta.

Finally the disclaimer ends with “You should seek suitable professional advice including from a regulated financial adviser.”  It was once the case that anyone looking to transfer to a QROPS should ensure that their chosen scheme is on HMRC QROPS list within 24 hours of transferring to avoid a scheme sanction charge, however this seems to be defunct as each scheme may now need to be checked by an adviser and the UK scheme who will be making the transfer before it can go ahead.

HMRC QROPS List Advice

If you would like information about HMRC QROPS list, call us on +34 698 243 745 or Contact Us Today

GC QROPS has been successfully assisting UK expats in Spain with UK pension transfers for 9 years since 2006.

We are completely independent, and can advise on a wide variety of QROPS pension schemes – we are not tied to any single provider, which means that we will recommend the scheme which meets your exact requirements and needs.