The release of the Elmo International Retirement Plan is currently awaiting HMRC recognition as a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme.
Its release comes after Elmo received a licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority to act as a Retirement Scheme Administrator in terms of the Retirement Pensions Act 2011 (RPA).
Elmo said it believes it is the first to be issued to a retirement scheme administrator since the RPA came into force on January 2015.
The company said the new scheme “may be one of the first QROPS in the world” to offer full flexibility, as schemes registered under the RPA are subject to UK HMRC rules which enabled 100% lump sum withdrawals from UK pensions earlier this year.
As a result of this, the company expects “significant interest” from new transfers and transfers from existing QROPS where the full flexibility option is not currently available.
David Erhardt, founder of the Malta Association of Pension Fund Administrators, will provide technical pension knowledge to the company.
On the launch, he said: “Malta is a highly regulated pension jurisdiction which requires significant resources.
“Having the support of a well-established local company provides an important head start to the process.”
David Bartoli, managing director at Elmo, commented: “Insurance and pensions are perfect partners; both are highly regulated and require the same standards of service.
“Elmo’s commitment to competitive costs with unsurpassed service standards will be extended to its pension products.”
Full flexibility
In December last year, HMRC announced that QROPS would be granted full flexibility, bringing them in line with the UK pensions which, from 6 April this year, no longer require an annuity, enabling 100% withdrawals.
While this move would have removed the existing requirement for 70% of the funds in any QROPS established outside of an EU jurisdiction to provide an income for life, the Revenue “temporarily” backtracked on its proposals in March, and is yet to reverse its position.
As Malta-based QROPS are established in the EU, they were unaffected by the reversal and thus maintained the ability to accommodate 100% lump sum withdrawals.
Elmo Insurance is one of the leading general insurance companies in Malta.
