Overseas Pension - QROPS

[Rahul]

I would also add that there is no requirement for an Indian resident to transfer their UK pension into a Indian based QROPS. In fact, depending on the client’s circumstances, a transfer to a QROPS based in another jurisdiction may be more appropriate.

Can you please elaborate what do you mean by "a transfer to a QROPS based in another jurisdiction may be more appropriate"?

[MRQROPS]

Can you please elaborate what do you mean by "a transfer to a QROPS based in another jurisdiction may be more appropriate"?

Hi Rahul,

Happy new year, and sorry for the delay in responding to your question.

The first point to make is that, for returning Indians who have a UK pension, there is no obligation to transfer their UK pension into an Indian QROPS scheme (such as HDFC Life, ING, SBI, ICICI Pru, etc). There are several other jurisdictions which can offer benefits and features not available to Indian schemes.

Indian QROPS schemes are subject to Indian pension regulations, which oblige a member to use their pension fund to purchase an annuity. With pension annuity rates offering very low incomes, and with the associated high charges imposed by the insurance companies, many clients prefer an alternative solution - and for this they must look for a QROPS solution outside of India.

The first thing a pension adviser must do when discussing pension transfers and QROPS with their client, is to understand their financial goals and objectives, as this will have a significant impact on advising on the most suitable QROPS solution for them.

For example, some clients want much more control over their pension investments, and to have a say in the allocation of their investment portfolio. For these clients, we may recommend a QROPS solution with a specialist investment account, where the client can select from over 6,000 different investment funds, including funds which invest in India.

For clients who want a more ‘hands off’ approach, and who want a very low risk, stable investment we may recommend their pension be managed by a professional fund manager based in London.

For clients who are relatively young – say in their 30’s or early 40’s, who want to maximise the tax free lump sum they can take at retirement, we may recommend a solution whereby they are allowed to withdraw, at retirement, 100% of the growth that the fund has made since the transfer.

Thus a QROPS plan is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution. Each client is different, with different transfer values, financial goals and objectives – and it is the role of the adviser to find the right QROPS solution which matches those individual requirements.

I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any further questions.

Andrew