Overseas pensions: tell HMRC you're a qualified recognised overseas pension scheme
An overseas pension scheme can only receive a UK tax-free transfer from a registered pension scheme if it’s a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) — but some transfers to a QROPS have a tax charge.
If you’re the manager of a scheme and want it to be a QROPS, the scheme must:
To be a ROPS, your scheme must be based outside of the UK and cannot be a registered pension scheme. It must also meet the following rules.
Your scheme must be:
Your scheme’s country must have a system to tax personal income and give tax relief on pensions. The country, except for Australia, must only give tax relief on either:
Australian pension schemes must be complying superannuation plans. Read more about this on the Super Fund Lookup website.
Your scheme must be regulated by a pension scheme regulator in the country your scheme is run from.
If a regulator does not exist in your country for your occupational or non-occupational pension scheme, your scheme must be either:
Where your scheme is a public service pension scheme set up or approved by the government of the country it’s based in, you will not need to meet this test.
Your scheme must only make payments to members under 55 years of age if they’ve retired because of ill health.
If tax relief is available on pension payments, it cannot only be given to non-residents of the country your scheme is run from.
As with the regulatory requirements test, you will not need to meet these requirements where your scheme is a public service pension scheme set up or approved by the government of the country it’s based in.
Your scheme must be based in either:
If your scheme is based in Guernsey it cannot be open to non-residents of Guernsey and be an exempt pension contract or trust under section 157E of the Income Tax (Guernsey) Law 1975.
There are different rules if your pension scheme’s run by an international organisation, like the EU or UN.
To be a ROPS in this case, your pension scheme must be:
You’ll need to tell HMRC within 30 days if:
You’ll need to tell HMRC within 90 days if:
You’ll also need to:
If you do not report this information your scheme will lose its QROPS status.
To be a QROPS you must tell HMRC that your scheme:
You can use form APSS251 to do this.
You can also ask HMRC to add your scheme to the ROPS notifications list. This shows that you’ve told HMRC that your scheme is a ROPS and have agreed to report on your pensions. However it does not show that your scheme meets the ROPS conditions, so you may have to explain how your scheme meets the requirements to:
- other pension scheme administrators and scheme managers
Once you’ve told HMRC you’re a QROPS they’ll send you a letter with your QROPS reference number.
You can only receive pension transfers free from UK tax if you continue to meet the rules for being a QROPS. Telling HMRC and receiving a QROPS number is not a guarantee of your QROPS status.
You need to tell HMRC if you stop being a QROPS.
You need to tell HMRC every 5 years that you’re still a ROPS. Use form APSS251 to do this.
HMRC will remove the scheme’s QROPS status if you do not re-notify them.
To keep QROPS status your pension scheme must continue to meet the conditions to be a ROPS at all times.
You must make sure the scheme continues to meet the ‘Pension Age Test’ within regulation 3(6A) of The Pension Schemes (Categories of Country and Requirements for Overseas Pension Schemes and Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/206). You may need to amend your pension scheme rules to do this.
To maintain ROPS and QROPS status from 6 April 2028, your scheme rules should reflect that payments may not be made to members under the age of 57 except where retirement is due to ill health, or where certain lump sums are paid out (read PTM112300 in the HMRC Pensions Tax Manual).
