Newsletter 71 – HMRC’s mid-summer round up
HMRC’s latest pension schemes newsletter covers a number of issues in brief, from qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes to pension liberation.
On QROPS, HMRC reminds pension scheme administrators that its ROPS notification list is no more than a list of overseas schemes that have notified HMRC that they wish to appear on the list and have undertaken to provide certain information to HMRC (thus meeting the “Q” aspect of being a QROPS). Being on the list is no proof that they do in fact meet the conditions to be a ROPS, so scheme administrators should check this point independently when making an overseas transfer.
In relation to the annual allowance HMRC asks scheme administrators to remind members who have exceeded the 2014/15 annual allowance that it is “really important” they declare this on their self-assessment tax return (the deadline for submission of which is 31 January 2016). This reminder is timely as administrators will soon be issuing annual allowance pension statements for 2014/15 to all members contributing more than the annual allowance (£40,000) to their pension scheme. HMRC is currently considering how it will adapt this pension statement scheme administrator duty in time for the introduction of the tapered annual allowance in 2015/16 as it does not expect scheme administrators to know what any individual’s income is for any tax year.
HMRC also states that it:
- Will publish pension flexibility statistics on a quarterly basis from autumn 2015.
- Aims to provide more detail around the new protection regimes to accompany the reduced lifetime allowance in the next pension schemes newsletter which it plans to publish around September.
On pension liberation and pension scams the newsletter asks administrators to signpost members to the protection against pension scams information on the Pensions Regulator’s website whenever possible.
This Pensions Bulletin does not constitute advice, nor should it be taken as an authoritative statement of the law. For further help, please contact David Everett at our London office or the partner who normally advises you.
