The International Pension Plan, which has five risk graded investment portfolios run by Marathon Capital & Apollo Multi Asset Management, is a Hong Kong-based exempt Occupational Retirement Scheme where the underlying trust is registered with the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.
Clients must be employed at the point they become a member of the scheme, and the employer must agree to sponsor them.
Neil Baskerville, one of the founders of Satori said that “because Hong Kong has a DTA with 27 countries where these countries do not tax income from legitimate offshore pensions, the product is a world apart from the standard savings plan on offer from the traditional life company”.
Jim Graham, of Marathon Capital Management and LTC, also highlighted how there was no term contract or surrender penalties on the underlying investment programme and that the overall trust pension age could be suited to the scheme member and his/her company.
He also explained why the International Pension Plan is not on HMRC’s latest ROPS list under Hong Kong.
“HMRC does not publish an exhaustive list of ROPS. There are thousands of schemes that qualify”, he said, adding that the published list self-certify them as qualifying also as QROPS.
“As even HMRC is at pains to point out, the published list is not an endorsement”, he said.
However, another LTC trust, called Capital Corporation Retirement Plan, is listed there under Hong Kong.
“As HMRC has listed Hong Kong QROPS, it follows that the ROPS element of QROPS is also satisfied for all other pensions created under the same regime (although not all of them wish to be involved in UK pension transfers and so do not submit themselves to the narrow qualification requirements of QROPS. They do however remain ROPS.”
Graham also gave an example of a potential client for the plan, who is a UK national living in Europe working for an Asian airline, and wishes ultimately to retire back to the UK.
“This depends on whether the company makes the contribution, or the member makes the contribution, or they both contribute. Any combination is permitted by LTC and under HK law. Local laws might determine which is best. For example, one scenario could be that the member wishes to take a salary sacrifice and so asks his/her company to make an equivalent payment as a deferred income contribution to his/her International Pension Plan.”
LTC has around $6bn under administration, of which around $3bn is invested in various occupational retirement schemes.
