“We have been told that the reporting requirements for ‘former schemes’ will only apply to schemes which lose or remove their QROPS status from the date that the new regulations are made into law,” said Jane Caulfield, technical manager of STM Fidecs, the Gibraltar-based pensions and QROPS administrator.
“This means that all the schemes which were delisted since 6 April 2012 to the date of the new law will not be subject to the reporting requirements as if they were still QROPS”, as the new regulations will stipulate for all schemes delisted after the law comes into force, Caulfield added.
Roger Berry, managing director of the Concept Group, the Guernsey-based pension fund administrator, said it was his impression as well that the effective date was “unlikely to be retrospective, as they would presumably by now have had to make full disclosure on that point”.
“It seems then the rules will apply going forward, which means Guernsey plans won’t be caught by the former Qrops reporting regs,” he noted.
Assuming that the government does not change its position on the matter, this will be good news to the administrators of more than 300 QROP schemes that were delisted last April, after an unexpected decision by HMRC to change the legislation governing qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes. As reported, the Revenue is inviting comment on its proposals until 21 June.
HMRC’s press office did not immediately reply to requests for official clarification on the matter.
As reported, the draft regulations were unveiled on 24 May. In addition to the new requirement that former QROPS report any payment transfers within the same required 10-year period from the date of transfer that is currently required of existing QROP schemes, the draft regs also introduce a penalties regime for non-compliant former QROPS, and a system for scheme managers to re-notify HMRC that they meet the conditions to be a QROPS.
A relaxation of the so-called benefit tax relief test for overseas publish service schemes, and the pension schemes of international organisations, is also included.
Some pension fund administrators, including Caulfield, have told International Adviser that they see the draft QROPS regulations providing much-needed clarification of the legislation governing such pension schemes in the aftermath of major changes that were brought in last year.
To read more about the proposed changes to the QROPS legislation on HMRC’s website, click here.
