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Offshore Retirement Pension Plan?

Options
I am a 32-year-old Brit, living in Canada. I have moved around a lot over the years and so have accumulated various pension schemes:
  • UK state pension
  • European Union institutions pension from working in Brussels, Belgium for a while
  • Prudential Group Pension Plan from working at the BBC in the UK

I am currently not contributing to any pension and have been trying trying to get my house in order for several years. However, I have recently hit a wall...

I tried to transfer in my EU pension in Belgium into my BBC pension in the UK. But Prudential say, because I am not in the UK, they cannot do this.

I now realise I need to set up a pension scheme that will:
  • allow me to transfer in my BBC and EU pensions
  • allow me to contribute from anywhere in the world
I have no idea where I will be when it comes time to retire. I have no idea where I will be next year.

It seems to me the only option is an offshore retirement pension plan...but I have absolutely no idea where to look for this. Can anyone help?

Comments

  • Dragonista
    Dragonista Posts: 138 Forumite
    edited 31 May 2013 at 2:25AM
    I'm overseas, two IFA's told me there is no such thing as an offshore pension. But there are ways of carefully investing to give yourself a retirement income and often sell themselves as "pensions" even though the operate differently. As such I don't think there is a way to consolidate the ones you already have given that they're in different countries. The best thing to do would be to contact an IFA, the product I use could only be accessed by using one anyway. The chap I used is British but lives where I do so he has an understanding of both where I live and the UK (tax liabilities etc). This is only what I have heard, I'm no expert.
  • Debt_Free_Chick
    Debt_Free_Chick Posts: 13,276 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You can't transfer or do anything with the UK State Pension.

    You could possibly transfer the Pru pension to an overseas plan, but it would have to be a plan registered with HMRC in the UK - a Qualifying Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS). See here

    Transfers from the EU plans will be subject to the rules of those plans and local pensions laws.

    But there's no harm in simply leaving them where they are and claiming the payments when they're due.

    There are overseas plans which are available to non-UK residents - but they're generally for new contributions only. They can't accept a transfer from the UK plan unless they're registered as a QROPS.
    Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac ;)
  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,731 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Check that EU pension- it could be a Final Salary/defined benefit pension. Which you would want to keep as it is.

    The PP could be transferred to an HMRC approved QROPs plan, look at IOM providers for this, or leave it where it is and perhaps tweek what it is invested in.

    Canada does, I am sure, have a pensions industry with plans available. Unless you are not paying tax there, it could be worth doing. Otherwise, invest your spare savings in Mutual funds or something.
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