Jersey Opens The Door To QROPs

Following the Income Tax (Amendment No. 44) (Jersey) Law 2014 (the Amendment) and the introduction of greater flexibility as regards international pension fund transfers, both to and from approved Jersey schemes and the ability of non-resident individuals to contribute into Retirement Trust Schemes (previously, these schemes were known as Retirement Annuity Trust Schemes and were solely for Jersey residents), Jersey is now a "QROPs friendly" jurisdiction, ie non-resident pension members can transfer their UK pension funds into Jersey.  A QROPS (a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme) is an overseas pension scheme that meets certain criteria set by HMRC and which can receive the transfer of pension benefits under a UK pension, without incurring tax penalties (a transfer to a scheme without QROPs status can incur a penalty of up to 55% of the transfer value).