Qualifying overseas pension scheme meaning

No legal duty on pension trustees to carry out due diligence beyond compliance with statutory transfer regime, and member did not need to be an ‘earner’ to acquire ‘transfer credits’ as assumed in Hughes (Mrs T, CAS-78486-R9D8 & Mr R, CAS-74246-K7Q0) Original news Mrs T (CAS-78486-R9D8)—30 September 2025 / Mr R (CAS-74246-K7Q0)—11 September 2025 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has dismissed two complaints concerning a transfer into a pension liberation arrangement. Regulatory guidance imposed no extra obligation beyond following the statutory transfer framework, and compliance with that regime was sufficient. Each complainant was entitled to a cash equivalent. The statutory reference to ‘transfer credits’ concerns the character of the benefits transferred, not the member’s current earnings or earner status. Taken together, these determinations underline how challenging it is to fix trustees with liability for statutory transfers. What were the facts? Mr R was a deferred member of the Merlin Pension Scheme (the Merlin Scheme), while Mrs T belonged to the HBOS Final Salary Pension Scheme...

Original news Mrs N (CAS-83019-G2S0)—25 November 2025 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a grievance alleging that unduly onerous transfer conditions were imposed on a member who wished to move benefits to a Qualifying Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS). The ceding scheme required both a UK opinion and an overseas opinion before it would progress the transfer. The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman concluded that this was a reasonable and proportionate measure for the scheme to adopt as a pre‑condition to any transfer. The outcome illustrates the practical obstacles trustees face when asked to facilitate a QROPS transfer—particularly where the legislation provides no clear direction on the nature of the evidence trustees should obtain. What were the facts? Mrs N was a member of the SCA UK Pension Plan (the Scheme)...

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...

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No. 2) Bill secured Royal Assent on 18 September 2023, becoming the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 (the Act), and was published on 19 September 2023. The Act confers powers on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to make regulations to: lower the minimum age at which otherwise eligible employees must be automatically enrolled and re-enrolled into a pension scheme by their employers; remove the Lower Earnings Limit from the qualifying earnings band so that contributions are calculated from the first pound of earnings; and revise the requirements for the annual review of the qualifying earnings band. Adjustments to automatic enrolment eligibility will proceed following a consultation on the detailed implementation method and timing. The commencement of section 1 of the Act is set to be ‘on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint’. For further information, see: DWP press release, Work...

Requirements for PPF entry The conditions for a scheme to transfer into the PPF are: the scheme must be an eligible scheme—see: What schemes are eligible? below and either: a qualifying insolvency event must occur in relation to a scheme employer—see: What is a qualifying insolvency event? below, or the employer is unlikely to continue as a going concern and meets SI 2005/590, reg 7—see: Alternative route to PPF entry, below the insolvency practitioner for the employer must confirm that a scheme rescue cannot proceed—see: Duty of insolvency practitioner to issue notices confirming status of scheme (section 122 notices) and the scheme’s assets must be below the ‘protected liabilities’ (broadly, the benefits the PPF would pay to members)—see: Protected liabilities, below The statutory framework setting out which schemes may enter the PPF is contained in: sections 120–168 of the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004) the...