Transferring your pension

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Transferring to an overseas pension scheme

You may be able to transfer your UK pension savings to an overseas pension scheme.

Get help and advice including if you’re concerned about a pension scam.

Schemes you can transfer to

The overseas scheme you want to transfer your pension savings to must be a ‘qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme’ (QROPS). It’s up to you to check this with the overseas scheme or your UK pension provider or adviser.

If it’s not a QROPS, your UK pension scheme may refuse to make the transfer, or you’ll have to pay at least 40% tax on the transfer.

Tax when you transfer to a QROPS

Whether you pay tax depends on where the QROPS you transfer to is based. It’s your responsibility to find out where this is.

You do not have to pay any tax if you asked for a transfer to a QROPS before 9 March 2017.

You usually do not pay tax if you transfer to a QROPS provided by your employer. Check with the scheme to find out.

You transfer to a QROPS based in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Gibraltar

You pay 25% tax if you either:

  • live outside the UK, Gibraltar or the EEA
  • move to live outside the UK, Gibraltar or the EEA within 5 years

Otherwise you do not pay tax.

You can get tax refunded if you move to the UK, Gibraltar or an EEA country within 5 years of the transfer. To claim, tell your UK scheme’s administrator and your overseas scheme manager you’ve moved using form APSS 241. They’ll put the tax refund back into the pension it was taken from.

You transfer to a QROPS based outside the UK, Gibraltar or the EEA

You do not have to pay tax if you live in the country your QROPS is based in. Otherwise you’ll have to pay 25% tax.

If you move countries within 5 years of the transfer, fill in form APSS 241 and give it to your scheme administrator. You’ll:

  • get a refund if you’ve moved to the country your QROPS is based in
  • have to pay 25% tax on your transfer if you’ve moved away from the country your QROPS is based in

How to transfer

Form APSS 263 tells you what information you’ll need to provide before making a transfer.

Download and fill in the form and give it to your UK pension scheme administrator.

Your transfer will be taxed at 25% if you do not provide all the information the form asks for within 60 days of requesting the transfer.

If you’re under 75, your UK pension scheme administrator will work out what percentage of your lifetime allowance is used by the transfer.

They’ll tell you if the amount you’re transferring is more than your allowance and if you’ll be taxed on it.

Payments from an overseas pension

You may have to pay UK tax on some payments from your overseas scheme. This depends on when you were a UK resident.