Mike Lightfoot, pensions director at Close Trustees Guernsey and a former Isle of Man pensions regulator, said that although there had not been official any official word as yet, “I understand that over the last week or two, encouraging noises” have been heard on the Isle of Man from HMRC.
He did not find this surprising, Lightfoot added.
“I think they [the Isle of Man] have interpreted HMRC’s [guidance on QROPS] exactly as they [HMRC] have written it,” he noted.
Lightfoot made his comments at a QROPS forum for journalists in London, at which Montfort International managing director Geraint Davies also appeared. The session was moderated by Close director of products and services Rex Cowley.
During the session, Davies observed that UK financial advisers could no longer afford to turn a blind eye to QROPS, as UK pensions transferred to administrators located outside Britain are called, on the understanding that these were exotic products for a niche, offshore category of client.
Today, any UK adviser who does not have a clause in his correspondence with clients which instructs them to notify the adviser “immediately” if they were considering moving abroad for good “is asking for trouble”, Davies said.
Summing up at the end of the session, Cowley noted that proper advice on QROPS and related products, such as Self-Invested Personal Pensions, was "fundamental" for UK IFAs, many of whom, he suggested, are unaware of how costly their lack of understanding of the issues can be for their clients.
As reported, HMRC announced its review of the IoM’s pension legislation in December, and has since stopped registering any new 50c QROPS. Pre-existing Isle of Man QROPS, which were set up before the legislation which made the 50c QROPS possible was approved, are not affected by the review.
And one 50c scheme, Boal & Co’s Trinity Plan, which was initially registered in October shortly after the Isle of Man approved the 50c-enabling legislation, has remained on HMRC’s QROPS list.
