Transferring my pension fund (but not myself) abroad

Following the recent 0.6% levy on Irish pension funds, I'm looking at possible alternatives for both pension and non-pension money. I live and work in Ireland, pay tax here etc.

Is it possible to transfer my pension funds to a pension company outside of Ireland even though I still live here? My own pension policies are mostly RACs and PRSAs but I'd be interested to hear about Occupational Pension Schemes also.

My plan would be to transfer to a Euro country to avoid currency risk.

Dave Vanian said:

My plan would be to transfer to a Euro country to avoid currency risk.

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I've no idea if this is possible.... but I would advise you to take a very close look at the state of pension funds in Europe and at the actions taken by the governments in those countries in trying to deal with the situation... Oh and while you are at it total up the amount of those funds that are required to be held in the bonds of you know who....

Jim (Switzerland)

Thanks Jim. It's good advice to look at the state of the recipient's finances, as it would be poetic justice to go to the trouble of moving my pension fund out of Ireland only for some other country to impose a levy.

Hi Dave, Did you get any further on finding a country that looks suitable?

Are you sure that the levy applies only to Irish based funds?

Complainer said:

Are you sure that the levy applies only to Irish based funds?

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Yeah. Otherwise International Financial Services would have already packed their bags.

SPC100 said:

Hi Dave, Did you get any further on finding a country that looks suitable?

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Not really, to be honest. I'm casting around blindly really, which is never a strong position. I have some contacts in Luxembourg but they're working in the wrong field. They're checking around to see if they can locate the right person for me to talk to. Obviously Luxembourg attracts a lot of offshore investment of all sorts, but that doesn't mean it's right for Irish pension funds, or me.

I take it you're looking into this yourself?

Yes, If I could find a suitable product.....

Hi Dave and SPC100,

You might find some useful information on the website below. Get in touch with them, I believe they will be able to help.

adviesqrops.com

As someone who transferred his pension to Ireland from the UK under QROPS I have to say given that I have never had any tax relief in Ireland, its a bit rich seeking to take 0.6% of my investment capital each year.

However, even with a legitimate reason to transfer my pension offshore, the fact remains that if I take my pension and move it to the Isle of Mann or wherever, as an Irish resident tax payer, the Revenue will seek to recover the tax it is "owed".

Everyone therefore has to weigh the costs of moving their pension to another jurisdiction which is perfectly possible against the risk of still being liable to the tax.

For a very large pension fund it might be worth considering the risks but for many people is it really worth it?

I for one looked at the costs of moving and concluded it wouldn't be worthwhile and I do this for a living. Most people would be at the risk of being fleeced with charges in another country.

I just re-read that last part and realised that the next post is bound to be along the lines of -what do you mean being fleeced in another country.....

For clarity, the new range of pension contracts in Ireland are about as competitive as a good scheme in the UK and so unless you are in an older contract with loads of hidden charges, there isn't so much to be gained from going abroad anymore.

Rather than give out about the levy, many people can improve their fee structure and improve the pension investments to make up some if not all of the levy. I would propose that this is a better approach for most people.

Hi Marc, are you correct about the tax situation? My accountant tells me I can shift my pension abroad tax-free. It would not be to an EU state. All the documentation I've read seems to back that up. I am living abroad, so not subject to Irish tax (its a deferred pension).

Has anyone out there done this before? I'm just starting to put wheels in motion to set it up.

[broken link removed]
This irish times article mentions an information evening where they discussed resident ireland people moving their pension to malta to avoid the levy.

"“If you live in Ireland, transferring . . . will avoid the pensions levy, capital gains tax and inheritance tax.”"

Here is they flyer
[broken link removed]

Apparently a lot of British citizens have been scammed by this "transfer your pension abroad" scheme.

They transferred their pension abroad or into self-invested pension funds.
In a less regulated environment, the funds were scammed out of them.
They have lost everything.

The scammers appear to have used Authorised Pensioneer Trustees to facilitate the scam.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/moneybox/9739627.stm

Pension scams under investigation



BBC Radio 4's Money Box
Saturday, 21st July 2012 at 1204 BST On Radio 4 and Online
The Serious Fraud Office warns that it is investigating up to nine pension schemes totalling 'hundreds of millions of pounds' which might have conned thousands of people out of their money.
The SFO has just announced that one man has been jailed for eight years after a scam which took £52 million from 2,200 people.
Paul Lewis talks to Jane de Lozey, the SFO's joint head of fraud and to Andrew Roberts, chair of the SIPPS trade body Association of Member Directed Pension Schemes

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The woman from the Serious Fraud Office said on the programme that this was the biggest fraud they had come across in terms of the number of people who have lost out.