Pension - Moving my UK pension to Switzerland

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
81
Joel is on holiday this week so will try again once he is back.

I have tried to move my old company pension within the UK but no one wants to accept the transfer as I am not resident anymore. And I need to transfer or I will lose all company contributions. I wish I had known this before leaving UK and could have dealt it with then.

My only hope seems to be to find someone willing to accept my pension here in Switzerland. I will post more once I have some news.

82
PICTET will AFAIK accept, so don't worry...

83

Hi Smokey

I had a friend who moved his pension capital from England to the pensfree foundation ( www.pensfree.ch ). PensFree is ont the QROPS-List.

His capital was quite small. Either he transferred it or would have lost it. He managed to transfer it without any problems.

As much as I remember, conditions depends on the English pension scheme. What do they ask in order that the transfer can be done? Do you know it?

84
Bayesco - Thanks for the tip - I will have a look at pensfree if Pictet will not work out (I am now in touch with Joel).

The trustees looking after the UK pension scheme have not said too much but apparently they have already dealt with transfers abroad, so hopefully that should work. Not sure if there are some restrictions though.... pensions just seem very complicated and no one has a clear answer what can or cannot be done.

I will post some more once I have news.

85
Hi all,

Seem to be a hot topic...

Has anyone suceeded in transferring a pension from Ireland to Switzerland, am currently in process, but Swiss Life are making a big deal about it, bilateral agreements etc, Irish pension guys seem to think its a straightforward matter

Advise tips most welcome.

Captain Pugwash

86
Hi there,

I have recently moved pension assets from Ireland to Switzerland. The sticking point is the declaration required by the transferring fund (from the receiving fund) that it will provide 'relevant benefits' within the meaning of the Taxes Consolidation Act.

Its the kind of obligation they won't like as there are substantial differences between the 2 pension regimes; the chances are they are scratching their heads. Did they say that they can handle this kind of inward transfer easily ?

Cheers

Phillip

87
Thanks Phillip,

Well these are the questions that Mercers in Ireland are asking of Swiss life:

Please note that we require confirmation of the following:

• the arrangement has been approved by the regulatory authority in Switzerland

• the arrangement is operated or managed by an Institution for Occupational Retirement Provision

• does the plan provide relevant benefits i.e. a lump sum and pension in respect of retirement

• can the benefit be cashed in prior to age 50

• you are a full member of the pension scheme and the name of the pension scheme

• to whom should the cheque be payable

The sticking point is that Swiss life have failed to respond since Aug 11th even after a few reminders, questions dont look so difficult, really dont understand the holdup.....

88
Hi Captain,

OK, so IMHO its the "relevant benefits i.e. a lump sum and pension in respect of retirement", thats causing the delay and may even be a dead end.

In the name of being helpful on a public forum i'll say that the answer is to transfer to a pension that can answer yes to that question, and (if indeed Switzerland is the best destinationation for your money) who wouldnt ask that same question should you request an onward transfer to SwissLife.

My firm provides employee benefits and structural financial planning for incoming companies and their execs. Am happy to undertake individual cases if anyone is having difficulties with these types of transfer.

Cheers

Phillip

89
You can transfer your pension out of the UK into a QROPS scheme if you intend to permanently leave the UK. The main advantage is that you do not need to then buy an annuity. On death all your funds are for your estate and heirs as opposed to 75% going to the provider. Instead of an annuity your funds would buy into a fixed interest vehicle to provide an income without eroding the capital. If the scheme is approved by HMRC (and there are only a few) you will not fall foul of the HMRC insisting on 40%+ tax on the amount. If it isn't then do not go anywhere near it. You cannot take the 25% until you reach retirement age although you can borrow up to 25% from your pension fund (currently) after being out of the UK for 5 years. You will pay interest but the interest is paid to your pension. However, you will loose the growth of the amount you borrow. The HMRC looks very dimly on anything that looks like a way of freeing the funds out of your pension and will not recognise the scheme leaving you open to the heavy tax penalties. The most efficient scheme I know is in Guernsey. You do not pay local tax unless you decide to live in Guernsey. It becomes your responsibility to let the Swiss tax authorities know your income in the future when you draw the pension. The QROPS is held in an offshore insurance bond with a wide range of investments and funds available. The lowest cut off point due to fees etc is about £100k pension pot. Above that it becomes more cost effective. If you do return to the UK in the future you would probably be better transferring back into a SIPP or another scheme. With final salary pensions etc you are generally better off leaving them where they are but depends on the scheme. Hope this helps and if anyone needs advice please contact me. [[email protected]](mailto😃[email protected])

90
OH come on if you had read this and other similar threads properly you'd know you didnt add even a word which was new. At least do that if you're going to use the forum as an advert for your services.

A qrops-approved pension is an investment vehicle in its own right, with fixed fees at GBP 1k - 2k per annum; custody can be established DIRECTLY with banks or with an online platform.

The ONLY reason to invest via a life insurance bond is to generate commission for the 'adviser', for which the client pays AND gets locked in for up to 8, yes , years.

buyer beware

91
Just bookmarking this and share this vignette:

I worked for many years for a large Airline (let's call them Big Airways of West London) that currently has a massive deficit with its Pension Scheme ca.1 Billion GBP last time I checked.

Coupled with a challenging business climate as the "loco" airlines drive the race to the bottom in terms of service, Big Airways is merging with Ms. Vuelo and will register its new HQ in Madrid.

I smell trouble!

Big trouble.

My plan is:

1. Wait for at least 2.0 CHF = 1 GBP

2. Get my Big Airways pension out of England into my current Pot here. What could possibly go wrong??

If you see an overweight Mancunian begging in the Bahnhof in 2020, then that's me!

92
Hello

Have you managed to move your pension?

I can help if needed.

Best regards,

Scott

93
No I just gave up in total frustration in the end, swiss life wont accept the transfer even though the Irish pension company wanted to do the transfer, wasted a lot of time on the whole thing , thanks C.P.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...etirement.html

95
Hoi Captain, your private messaging is turned off.

Do you have a pension fund here, is it Swiss Life?

Have you thought about buying extra years in the Swiss state system with your UK pension fund?

It is a completely different system of course, but at least your pension will be put to good use and guarenteed and not disappear with the next company crisis.

Your Gemeinde / Commune may be able to point you in the right direction.