Overseas retirement benefits scheme meaning

Statutory framework At present, four principal pension schemes operate in England and Wales for members of the armed forces. These are: Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 1975) — formerly open only to the regular forces; closed to new members from 6 April 2006 and stopped future accrual from 1 April 2022 Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPS 2005) — likewise for the regular forces only; also closed to future accrual from 1 April 2022 Reserve Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (RFPS 2005) — open to full time reservists; again closed to future accrual from 1 April 2022 Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 2015) — open to the regular forces and all reservists; effective from 1 April 2015 There are also several other schemes, run by the same manager, that provide pension or other occupational benefits to armed forces personnel. This Practice Note focuses on AFPS 2015. The AFPS 2015 was established under section...

Brexit impact The UK ceased to be an EU Member State on exit day, 31 January 2020. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, the state pension and benefit rights of UK nationals residing in the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland are protected. See: Benefits and pensions for UK nationals in the EU, EEA or Switzerland. Likewise, information on the entitlements of EEA and Swiss citizens to UK benefits and state pensions is set out at: Benefits and pensions for EEA and Swiss citizens in the UK. State pensions A state retirement pension depends on an individual’s National Insurance (NI) contribution record and may consist of up to three elements: the basic old age pension the State Second Pension (S2P—formerly the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme, SERPS) the graduated pension Payments are generally made gross, with tax collected through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) against a person’s other income, such as an occupational or private pension. Income tax can also...

A pension transfer A pension transfer takes place when an individual’s rights under one pension scheme are moved to another. The ceding scheme passes the relevant assets to the receiving scheme, which then assumes responsibility for providing the benefits for the person concerned. Members of all UK registered pension schemes that are personal pension schemes have an overriding statutory entitlement to transfer the cash equivalent of their benefits to another pension arrangement, subject to meeting certain prescribed conditions. Many personal pension schemes also allow transfers out in wider situations than those giving rise to the statutory right, for example: partial transfers transfers of benefits that are in drawdown transfers of particular assets in non-cash form In practice, it is crucial that transfers paid from personal pension schemes constitute a recognised transfer for HMRC purposes and do not inadvertently forfeit any tax-related protections or statuses the member may hold. Personal pension schemes can also receive transfers from other pension...