With the April 9th deadline fast approaching, research shows that Independent Financial Advisers are seeing a large increase in the number of overseas residents seeking to transfer their UK teachers’ pensions into a QROPS. The guidance published by the UK government suggests that after April 9th the authorities will block forever the right to transfer these pensions away from the UK. This is all part of the new pensions regime being implemented by the government. Expat focussed IFAs are reporting a big uptick in the volume of enquiries they are seeing with many expats rushing to complete transfers before the April deadline. QROPSreview.com has previously reported on George Osborne’s plans for pension transfers and the looming inability for these types of final salary schemes to be transfered to a QROPS means that expats need to act quickly if they are to take full advantage of the benefits of transferring a UK pension overseas. This is even more important given the news that the flexibilities of the new pensions regime will be rolled out to QROP schemes as well. This means that for most people, transferring their teachers pensions overseas will be something to seriously consider. James Cartwright, Senior Product Analyst at QROPSreview.com said, “The benefits of transferiring UK pensions to a QROPS have become more and more recognised amongst the expat and non-resident community in recent years. “However, the deadline to transfer these types of final salary pension schemes seems to have really lit a fire under a lot of people. The extension of the new flexibilities to QROPS means that there is more reason than ever to explore whether transferring may be right for you.” With the transfer process usually taking several weeks to complete, expats are advised not to delay in seeking specialist financial advice.
