Retiring abroad and taking pension with you?

spitandpolish

My wife earns ~£30k in the 40% bracket and we could very easily do without this right now and would consider sacrificing all of this into a SIPP (double what we are currently putting in).

She's 33. Are there any countries with reciprocal agreements whereby a transfer can take place but more importantly a country that allows you to retire at aged 50. This pension is secondary to her company one out with the state pension?

I've searches high and low but can't find a table for retirement ages anywhere.

atush

I don't understand?

You want to move after retirement or before? In the same job or a different one?

If you retire abroad it can have implications for your state pension (ie you might not get indexing if you move to certain countries outside the EU) but not a private pension.

The pension income would be paid into your UK acct which you could transfer to your foreign account as needed? you can retire early at 50 if you have saved enough outside your pension to live on until age 55.

If you move abroad while still working you cannot pay into a UK pension and receive income tax relief as you aren't paying income tax if you aren't resident. There might be pensions of some kind in the country you move to however.

jamesd

There is a general requirement from HMRC that all QROPS providers must comply with the general requirements of UK pension law, which includes age 55 as the youngest age for taking pension income, though they can pay up to 30% as a tax free lump sum instead of being limited to 25%. A UK pension company will not transfer out except to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS). The Isle of Man and Gibraltar might be worth investigating.

Use great caution in this area. There have been several cases where all qualifying schemes in several countries have been removed because HMRC didn't like the local laws, even in cases where the laws were specifically written to try to comply with HMRC's wishes. It is also a fertile ground for pension fraudsters and under no circumstances should you have any dealings at all with anyone who contacts you by phone about this without you having approached them first - that's one of the best indications there is that you're going to be scammed.

Non-pension investments can be used until the pension pot is available.

mania112

You are asking about QROPS and I would think long and hard before doing this.

Most important reason being: What happens if she comes back to the UK?

To learn more about QROPS, see here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/qrops.htm

spitandpolish

Thanks guys, you've pretty much answered my questions fully. Re. the QROPS and having to be aligned with the UK that makes the whole idea unattractive.

We were hoping to semi-retire and my wife continue working as a consultant. There will be enough money put aside to bridge the gap from aged 50-55 anyway.

Who knows where we will be in 20 years time, one thing for certain it won't be the UK if we can help it. Although this question is worth consideration.

grey_gym_sock

and of course the minimum age for drawing a pension may have increased by the time your wife gets there. they've already put it up once (from 50 to 55).

pensions are attractive with higher-rate relief on contributions, but they need to be balanced with more accessible investments, especially if planning early (semi-)retirement.