Private Pension won't pay

Fermion

dunstonh said:

eastcorkram said:

Fermion said:

I wonder if the US has a beneficiary condition similar to  the new rule that came into force in the UK last year? - viz. that the beneficiary must be a UK resident and have a UK bank account to be a DC pension beneficiary. So in this case a US citizen with a US bank account

My wife's cousin completed  an "expression of wishes"  form with HL for his DC pot naming his brother's widow as the beneficiary however we found out that is not viable as she is not a UK national and can't get a UK bank account.

I wasn't aware of this. My expression of wish with HL names my children, both currently in their 30s, neither of which live in the UK. Does this mean they won't receive it? If so, who would? 

There is no rule in the UK that requires the beneficiaries of a DC pension to be UK residents.

The only issue is that residency can impact the ability to set up beneficiary drawdown plans.   For example, the EU does not allow the retail of UK financial products to EU residents unless the firm has a physical office in the country where the EU resident is (or there is EU passporting permissions from their EU branch).    The majority of UK pension providers do not.     

However, its not impossible as there are several distribution channels that cater for expats.  Its just a limited choice.

Some non-UK residents may just go for the whole fund value rather than beneficiary drawdown if the death occurred before 75, as it's easier.

Think it's all a bit of a minefield - as dunstonh says there may be a way round it if the beneficiaries are expat UK nationals living abroad. However in our situation I discussed with the HL Bereavement Team who said there would be issues with a foreign national being named on an Expression of wishes form. It would be escalated to the Trustees to decide who the beneficiary will be. I would recommend eastcorkram speaks to the HL Bereavement Team to check the facts - the problem is that in that particular case there may be double taxation in the UK and overseas. 

eastcorkram

@Fermion

I will check this with HL today. My 'children' were not born in the UK, and it's extremely unlikely they'd ever move here. 

eastcorkram

This was the message HL sent regarding my beneficiaries.
I've read the attached link, which doesn't mention anything about nationality or residence. I'll have to call them