EIM74500 - Foreign pensions

Section 573 ITEPA 2003

Section 573 ITEPA 2003 applies to any pension paid by or on behalf of a person who is outside the United Kingdom to a person who is resident in the United Kingdom. It does not apply to any pensions charged by any of the provisions in Part 9 Chapters 5 to 14 ITEPA 2003 (see EIM74001).

Voluntary pensions

Section 574 ITEPA 2003 extends the charge under Section 573 to a pension that is paid voluntarily or is capable of being discontinued if the following conditions are met:

• the pension is paid to a former employee or office holder or to their widow, widower, surviving civil partner, child, relative or dependant
• the payment is paid by or on behalf of the person who employed the former employee (or the person under whom the office was held) or by the successors of that person.

Taxable pension income

Section 575 (as amended by IT(TOI)A 2005) provides that the taxable amount of a foreign pension is 90% of the actual amount arising in the tax year unless the income is charged in accordance with Section 832 of IT(TOI)A (relevant foreign income charged on the remittance basis). As foreign pensions are treated as “relevant foreign income”, Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of Part 8 IT(TOI)A respectively provide for claims to remittance basis, deductions and reliefs and unremittable income. These Chapters contain the rules that formerly applied to Case V of Schedule D. See IM1580 for further details.

Other pension income with a foreign source

The rules for foreign pensions also apply for determining the amount of taxable pension income for certain foreign annuities (see Sections 609 to 611 ITEPA 2003 and EIM74007) and for foreign voluntary annual payments (see Section 635 ITEPA 2003 and EIM74011).

Pre-1973 pensions paid under the Overseas Pensions Act 1973

Under Section 1 Overseas Pensions Act 1973, the responsibility for payment for certain pensions was transferred to the United Kingdom government from the governments of a number of former United Kingdom colonies. Section 629 ITEPA 2003 charges these pensions provided that the original pensioner retired before 6 April 1973. Pensions paid to the widow or widower of the original pensioner are also covered. Where Section 629 applies, the taxable amount of pension income is determined in accordance with the rules for foreign pensions. Section 629 does not apply to any statutory increases resulting from the application of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971. Section 569 ITEPA 2003 (United Kingdom pensions) will apply to the statutory increases (see EIM74003).