RPSM14101053 - Technical Pages: Transfers: Recognised transfers from registered pension schemes: Qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes: Published list

Published list

HMRC publishes on its internet site a list of qualifying recognised overseas pensionschemes (QROPS) that have consented to have their details published. The list is updated twice a month by Pension Schemes Services (PSS). A scheme’s name will be removed from the list as a matter of urgency if it ceases to be a QROPS.

Administrators and members of registered pension schemes need to bear in mind that:

• not all QROPS will necessarily feature within the list,
• the list is not to be taken as a recommendation for a particular scheme or product,
• publication on the list should not be seen as confirmation by HMRC that it has verified all the information supplied by the scheme in its QROPS application, and
• if a scheme has been included on the list in circumstances where it should not have been included because it did not satisfy the conditions to be a recognisedoverseas pension scheme, any transfer that has been made to that scheme could potentially give rise to an unauthorised payments charge and unauthorised payments surcharge liability for the member and to a schemesanction charge liability for the scheme administrator (see RPSM14102020 and RPSM14101055).

Administrators of registered pension schemes should seek confirmation from PSS regarding the status of a scheme that is on the published QROPS list only as a last resort, if there is doubt about the bona fides of the scheme.

Because of HMRC confidentiality rules PSS will not be able to answer queries about the QROPS status of an unlisted overseas pension scheme unless it has received from the manager of that scheme written authorisation for it to disclose whether or not the scheme is a QROPS. The letter or form providing authorisation must be signed by the manager of the overseas scheme in order for PSS to answer the query.

Administrators of registered pension schemes can also phone the PSS helpline to:

• ask if an overseas pension scheme has been accepted as a QROPS since the last list was published, although PSS will not be able to answer such an enquiry if it is waiting to find out if the scheme is prepared to go on the published list, and
• check if the omission from the latest published list of a scheme that had been included previously was deliberate.