A statement from the IoM’s Association of Pension Scheme Providers said, while Guernsey saw more than 300 schemes removed from the official list of recognised QROPS, “only a handful” of IoM schemes were removed at the same time, these being those written under the jurisdiction’s 50C legislation.
Stuart Clifford, chair of the APSP, said: “Of course there was some disappointment at the apparent curtailment of a development opportunity but very few, if any, of our members are reliant on international QROPS for a living. Schemes written under our 1989 Act are still all there on the HMRC list and we have one of the best regulated pension environments in the world, as has long been the case. Our industry has always been about international pensions of which QROPS is a strand. We carry on pretty much as before.”
The statement added, ever since HMRC opened its consultation on QROPS in December last year, it had been anticipated that the 50C schemes would have to be removed, either voluntarily by the providers or by HMRC.
“They were never going to pass the proposed new HMRC Benefits Exemption test,” said Clifford. “The question was always whether or not we should make changes to 50C to make it compliant.”
APSP’s statement went on to describe the jurisdiction’s approach to reacting to the consultation and changes in legislation as “wait-and-see” pointing out that this “proved to be the correct approach”.
Clifford added: “We engaged early with government and especially the Income Tax Division. In the background we have done a lot of detailed analysis and the subject has been extensively debated in private.
“We took much from our Income Tax Division’s experience in dealing with the impact on the Isle of Man of legislative change in other jurisdictions, especially the UK, and our stance reflected that. The happy outcome is that our member’s businesses do not appear to have been unduly disrupted and our pensions industry will continue to go from strength-to strength.”
