Transfers in decline
The comments come as HMRC data, released on Tuesday, reported that the number of British citizens transferring their UK pensions into recognised overseas pension schemes (Rops) has dropped by more than a third since the pension freedoms were introduced.
Pensions transfers reached a record value of £1.76bn (€2.8bn, $2.24bn) in the tax year to 2015 before dropping 15% to £1.5bn in 2016.
Old Mutual’s Griffin said the figures show that the “significant growth” in the Rops since their launch in 2006 had started to “level off”, suggesting that the market is “maturing”.
Earlier this year, Old Mutual International (OMI) also reported a sharp drop in overseas pension transfers, but Griffin remains confident that there is still a market for such products.
“The average size of a Rops transfer is over £100,000, highlighting the importance of these cases from a UK tax revenue perspective.
“There remain clear advantages to using Rops for people who are at risk of reaching the lifetime allowance limit on their UK registered pension scheme, and looking to move permanently overseas,” she said.
