French company - pension set up

janepn

Hello

My husband is becoming a partner in a French company and is sorting out his contract with them currently.

He needs to set up a pension with them. The other partners are French so their set up is different. He's employed by the French company but lives in the UK. Can anyone help with the best way to sort this out? The French company obviously needs to contribute to the pension. We don't know where to start really.

Many thanks in advance for any help/pointers..

Brynsam

janepn wrote: »

Hello

My husband is becoming a partner in a French company and is sorting out his contract with them currently.

He needs to set up a pension with them. The other partners are French so their set up is different. He's employed by the French company but lives in the UK. Can anyone help with the best way to sort this out? The French company obviously needs to contribute to the pension. We don't know where to start really.

Many thanks in advance for any help/pointers..

Is he going to be paying tax in the UK? You say he is going to be a 'partner in a company' - what exactly is the relationship: shareholder, director, employee...?

squirrelpie

Is he going to be paying tax in the UK? You say he is going to be a 'partner in a company' - what exactly is the relationship: shareholder, director, employee...?

Or maybe a partner? ??!

Marcon

squirrelpie wrote: »

Or maybe a partner? ??!

Partnerships have partners....not companies (although investors may be described as such, in which case the question about pensions wouldn't arise).

FatherAbraham

janepn wrote: »

Hello

My husband is becoming a partner in a French company and is sorting out his contract with them currently.

He needs to set up a pension with them. The other partners are French so their set up is different. He's employed by the French company but lives in the UK. Can anyone help with the best way to sort this out? The French company obviously needs to contribute to the pension. We don't know where to start really.

Many thanks in advance for any help/pointers..

Where will he pay income tax? Where is he tax resident? If UK, then UK tax law is relevant.

A pension fund is about deferring income until later in life, and consequently about deferring taxation of that income.

One cannot get tax relief on UK pension contributions which exceed the larger of one's annual taxable earnings and £3600 per year.

Making non-tax-relieved contributions to a UK pension scheme is normally insane, since all withdrawals are taxed as income, less a 25% tax-free allowance.

janepn

He's a shareholder but not an employee so is paid via his own UK limited company. This is the way the French want it set up but they acknowledge that he is entitled to the same benefits as they are - ie pension etc. So yes, tax etc will be paid in the UK.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer

janepn

Sorry, just to clarify, he needs to set up his pension in the UK and the French will contribute somehow even if he pays the full contribution each month and they re-imburse him.

FatherAbraham

janepn wrote: »

He's a shareholder but not an employee so is paid via his own UK limited company. This is the way the French want it set up but they acknowledge that he is entitled to the same benefits as they are - ie pension etc. So yes, tax etc will be paid in the UK.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer

He's an employee of a UK company, and that UK company will pay him a salary, which can be tax-deferred by posting it into a pension.

Note that dividends from his company are not earnings, and can't be tax-deferred into a pension fund.

There's no French aspect to this post of the setup. How his company gets the money pay into his pension is not a concern of pensions legislation.

Brynsam

FatherAbraham wrote: »

He's an employee of a UK company, and that UK company will pay him a salary, which can be tax-deferred by posting it into a pension.

OP - is he an employee of his own limited company, or simply a director? It makes a difference to how pension contributions are handled. A stakeholder pension would satisfy auto-enrolment requirements if the UK company will have employees other than your husband. If he is the sole director (and possibly sole employee), then up to him what he does - possibly a SIPP?

Either way, the simplest thing is for the French end of the deal to agree an amount of remuneration which will be paid to the UK company which covers everything including benefits. Much the easiest way to go about things. Do remember to specify the currency in which this will be paid!