Pensions for British Expats

We are able to introduce clients to a UK qualified recognised overseas pension cheme that has been approved and recognised by HMRC (Qrops 501712).    The plan is domiciled in Guernsey .

Guernsey is one of the foremost offshore financial centres in the world. It enjoys a reputation world-wide as an excellent jurisdiction

for establishing financial structures. At the end of 2007 total funds under administration in Guernsey had risen to £165 billion,

a sure sign of confidence from its international clients.  It is a well regulated and politically stable environment with good

communications and excellent infrastructure including local access to many of the world’s leading legal and accounting practices.

With Guernsey lying central to the UK and Europe it provides an established business centre for international pension management.

The administrators of the Plan, are a Guernsey company fully regulated and licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. They are also part of a Trust company group of companies who in total administer in excess of £890 million of client funds.

to be ‘recognised’ by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (‘HMRC’).

Individuals generally may have been members of an Employer Sponsored Pension Scheme or Personal Pension arrangement pre 6th

April 2006, commonly known as ‘A-day’. Transferring these schemes into a QROPS provides tax neutrality, a wide range of options

and greater flexibility.

Post A-Day schemes are more complex as they have very few transfer options and care must be taken to ensure that a transfer does

not trigger chargeable and benefit crystallization events.

The Pension Plan is designed to enable non UK resident individuals or individuals who are about to leave, who have accrued pension benefits in the UK, to transfer these out. In order to be in a position to receive transfers from authorised UK pension schemes, the Plan needs to be registered as a QROPS with HMRC.

The Pension Plan is a retirement scheme and is therefore designed to provide for one’s retirement with defined retirement/termination events as follows:

Normal Retirement Age of 65;

Early Retirement Age of 50;

Death & Permanent Disability;

However there may be greater flexibility, determined by an individual’s circumstances, which will need to be considered on a case

by case basis.

SHEARWATER PENSION PLAN

There is NO requirement to purchase an insurance annuity;

There are no limits on contributions to the fund, nor fund size;

Flexibility as to when benefits can be taken from the Plan (subject to personal tax situation);

Greater tax efficiency on drawdown (individual advice is recommended before drawdown);

It is open to all nationalities;

A transparent charging structure with no hidden penalties or exit fees;

The ability to take in transfers from UK approved pension schemes;

The Plan has been approved by the States of Guernsey Income Tax Authority;

The Plan is governed by Guernsey Law and the Trustees are regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission in

accordance with the Regulation of Fiduciary, Administration Business and Company Directors, etc Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2000;

Security of funds held through Barclays Wealth;

The Plan is not subject to tax in Guernsey * (gross roll-up on funds) and is outside the influence of the EU. This is especially

attractive in light of the new European Savings Tax Directive;

A bespoke solution with your own investment strategy, with investment in stocks, bonds, alternative investments, deposits, real

estate, private equity, options and life policies (subject to the consent of the Trustees).

PAYMENTS OF BENEFITS FROM THE SHEARWATER PENSION PLAN

The Administrators of the Pension Plan are required as part of their registration as a QROPS provider to report to HMRC any payment from the Plan, or certain action which may be treated as a deemed payment, in respect of the relevant member./  Double taxation treaties come into effect whereby the member will be subject to either normal UK income tax or this may be off-set by disclosure in the country in which they are resident.

However, the Trustees do not have to notify HMRC if the relevant member is a person to whom the member payment charges set

out in the Finance Act 2004 do not apply.

The relevant member payment charges do not apply unless the member:

is resident in the UK when the payment is made (or treated as made), or

although not resident in the UK at that time, has been resident in the UK earlier in the tax year in which the payment is made

(or treated as made) or in any of the five tax years immediately preceding that tax year.

A payment or deemed payment would include a transfer of the pension fund away from the Shearwater Pension Plan.

The potential way in which members of the Plan could reduce or eliminate the impact of member payment charges is:

Through non-residence: if the member is not resident in the UK when the payment is made and has not been so resident for five

tax years preceding the tax year in which the payment is made (paragraph 2 Schedule 34 Finance Act 2004) then no member

payment charges will be imposed on payments from the plan.

The Trustees will not have to report to HMRC a payment (or a deemed payment) if the member is not tax resident in the UK

when the payment is made and has neither been UK resident in that tax year nor in any of the previous five tax years.

Therefore with the Trustees of the Plan located in Guernsey where no local taxes are due, the member may receive distinct tax

advantages.

FEES

1% of fund value subject to a minimum of £2,000

1% of fund value subject to a minimum of £2,000

1. Initial fees are one-off and include:

Obtaining due diligence in accordance with regulatory requirements;

Preparation and completion of all necessary take on documentation for the Trustees and previous administrator;

Monitoring the application process and liaison with your adviser.

2. The Trustee administration fees are charged quarterly in arrears for the provision of specified services to include management of

the fund, annual accounts and the Trustee responsibility fee.

3. These fees do not apply to specialized investment assets or where they are held within an offshore company (e.g. property and

private equity). Fees will be quoted on a case by case basis.

4. Any additional professional work requested by the member will be quoted for in advance. These fees will be calculated by

reference to the time, complexity, urgency and responsibility involved and for work of an unusual or exacting nature.

5. On the transfer of the Plan to another administrator a termination fee of £1,500 will be applied.

Disclaimer

This summary is of a general nature only and is not intended to be relied upon, nor to be a substitute for professional advice, or

used in formulating any personal decisions without first seeking such advice. No liability is accepted for any consequences arising

from any transactions in connection with this summary. The benefits in this summary may vary according to residence and domicile

and different rules apply to different individuals. No warranty regarding the appropriateness of investing in this type of structure is

being given and none of the above comments should be construed as tax advice. You should always take independent advice, as

personal circumstances may mean the comments above do not apply.

Advice should be sought from tax advisors as to the tax implications on payment of benefits in the individuals country of residence.