The UK could experience a “substantial upsurge” in demand for HMRC-recognised qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes as a result of Chancellor George Osborne’s latest tax plans, deVere Group founder and chief executive Nigel Green has said.

In this year’s Budget, Osborne said the government is to stop non-UK residents from offsetting revenue earned in the UK against a £10,000 personal allowance. As it stands, expats are permitted to offset any income generated in Britain against this allowance.

“British expats would have little reason to invest into UK-based property or pension schemes,” Green said.

“I therefore speculate that as more and more expatriates move their finances to offshore jurisdictions, they will no longer wish to maintain any economic connections with the UK, which could in turn lead to more pensions being transferred out of the country.

“These new plans would, most experts agree, hit expat pensioners the hardest, so I’m confident of a substantial upsurge in demand for HMRC-recognised qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes. There are a whole host of advantages to QROPS, namely people can choose the currency they wish their pension to be paid out to save on costly exchange rates, and they offer much wider investment flexibility and significant tax efficiency.”

Green said since Qrops were introduced in 2006, there has been an annual rise in demand.

“At present, approximately 10,000 expatriates, and those planning a move abroad in the future, transfer their pensions into a QROPS every year.”

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