The site at www.qrops.net had described itself as “part of the world’s largest independent financial advisor,” a description often used by deVere in its promotional literature, and gave an office address in central London.
A deVere company spokesman said in a statement: “I must make it clear this is not a deVere site, but a site to which deVere is affiliated.”
The statement went on to say that: “We have been made aware that some of the content on this site was, unfortunately, out-of-date. We will inform our affiliated partners to ensure this is rectified immediately.
“Whilst this is being updated, we will, of course, insist the site is temporarily suspended to avoid any potential confusion. We will work with our affiliates to ensure that the site is routinely updated in the future.”
At the start of this month HM Revenue & Customs dropped thousands of QROPS from its recognised overseas pension schemes (ROPS) list, with Australian schemes faring the worst.
This followed a temporary suspension of the list on 17 June while the tax office sought information that the schemes met the conditions of the ‘pensions age test’, which states that benefits can only be paid out of a scheme before age 55 in cases of “serious ill health”.
Many schemes did not meet the requirement, which became active on 6 April, as they also allow early payments to be paid out in cases of “serious financial hardship”.
