The Trafalgar Pension Scheme, which is tax approved by the Gibraltar Commissioner of Income Tax and registered with HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, offers both standard and ‘lite’ options.
The addition of a Gibraltar QROPS restores the multi-jurisdictional aspect to Boal & Co’s QROPS range, which had previously included a Guernsey-based QROPS, and sits alongside the Select plan, the firm’s existing Isle of Man QROPS.
Almost all (310 of 313) Guernsey domiciled QROPS were removed from HMRC’s list of registered schemes in a shock decision last year – including Boal & Co’s.
There are preferential fees on the new scheme, applicable to investment in Skandia and Friends Provident International offshore bonds, and standard fees applicable to other offshore bonds and approved platforms.
The Trafalgar ‘lite’ fee scale is subject to a maximum £75,000 pension transfer, with an initial fee of £495, while a launch offer fee of £695 to the end of September (normally £995) applies to the standard version.
Managing director Gary Boal said he had closely monitored developments in several international finance centres and not all of them “came up to the mark.”
“We were impressed by the efforts put into QROPS development by the government of Gibraltar and, when it became clear that new Gibraltar legislation, including 2.5% tax on pensions, passed HMRC’s scrutiny, we initiated a 6-month project which led to us opening a company in Gibraltar in January.”
Click here to view a cut-out-and-keep QROPS jurisdiction guide
Boal said Trafalgar is aimed at clients who are in the post retirement phase as there is almost “next to no difference” when comparing the pros and cons of Gibraltar and Isle of Man schemes in the run-up to retirement.
Trafalgar has an external trustee in the form of Capital Trustees, an established Gibraltar-regulated fiduciary.