Qrops Issue

Bigred7

Some years ago I saw an article in The Telegraph online site about Qrops for ex-pats.
To cut a long story short I went ahead and moved my frozen UK private pension into a Qrops scheme based in Guernsey. Everything was handled by my pensions advisor in Sweden, but sadly the whole affair has left me with less money than I started with ☹️. I now realise that a Qrops was probably not suitable for me given the amount of cash I had available, the admin costs are excessive as a percentage of the total fund.
I am currently in the process of trying to cut my losses by closing the scheme and withdrawing my funds. I have severed all ties with my under performing financial advisor and am therefore attempting to expedite matters myself.
I will have to pay penalties and costs to access my funds, making an already bad situation even worse 😢. I wonder whether anyone has any good advice that might help me resolve this issue in as good a way as possible? I am particularly concerned about the tax implications of withdrawal of the funds. I am currently still a Swedish resident although I will probably return to the UK within the coming months.
HELP! 😩

Brynsam

Did the Swedish adviser actually give advice, or simply facilitate the transfer when you asked them to do so? If the former, is there a complaints procedure in Sweden you can follow if you believe you have grounds for complaint?

As to going forward, perhaps get a different adviser, which may well prove cost effective even though you will be paying them for their services.

Malthusian

Bigred7 wrote: »

To cut a long story short I went ahead and moved my frozen UK private pension

Too late now, but it almost certainly wasn't "frozen". This is a misleading term beloved by dodgy advisers and introducers.

Did you transfer out of a defined benefit (e.g. final salary) scheme or a defined contribution scheme?

into a Qrops scheme based in Guernsey. Everything was handled by my pensions advisor in Sweden, but sadly the whole affair has left me with less money than I started with ☹️. I now realise that a Qrops was probably not suitable for me given the amount of cash I had available, the admin costs are excessive as a percentage of the total fund.

What specific funds is the QROPS invested in? QROPS are a magnet for scammers and admin costs may be the least of your worries. If your plan is invested in diversified mainstream investments, then apologies for adding to your worries unnecessarily.

Which adviser was it and are they registered with the Finansinspektionen (Swedish FCA)?

If we can assume from your post that there was no significant tax advantage in moving your pension to Guernsey, then if you had stayed within the UK regulatory system and used a UK-regulated adviser, this would be a slam-dunk complaint and redress would be all but guaranteed - eventually. However, if the adviser is in Sweden - and the advice is presumably subject to the Swedish system - it becomes trickier.

Brynsman wrote:

If the former, is there a complaints procedure in Sweden you can follow if you believe you have grounds for complaint?

My research suggests that there is no specific Financial Ombudsman in Sweden, but consumers can complain to the business and then if they are unsatisfied take it to the National Board of Consumer Disputes (ARN), much as they would take it to the FOS over here. However, unlike Financial Ombudsman rulings, which are binding up to £150,000 currently, NBCD complaints are not legally binding.

To suggest the best way forward we first need to know whether the OP used an FI-regulated adviser.

simple_expat

I feel for you, I know so many people in a similar position who were mis-sold a QROPS by an offshore salesman, sorry adviser. In order to take action against the adviser, you'll need to find out where they were licensed/regulated. It's not uncommon for these advisers to be licenced in a different country to where they are operating, and many are not regulated or licensed at all. Once you know this information, you may then be able to make a complaint to the regulator or equivalent ombudsman.

Now that you're moving back to the UK, you could consider transferring your pension back into a UK pension scheme, such as a SIPP. There is no law that prevents transferring a QROPS back into a UK registered pension scheme. This would mean your pension is back within the UK regime and you get the protection that comes with it.