In a statement on its website, the UK tax office said it will suspend the Rops list, which contains pension schemes that have told HMRC their product meets the criteria for inclusion, on the 2 June.
It will then be republished on 5 June.
The list was first suspended on 13 April following a surprise announcement by chancellor Philip Hammond to impose a 25% charge on pension transfers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) if the Qrops destination is not the same country in which the retiree plans to live.
Nine countries were removed entirely from the Rops list when it was republished on 18 April including the Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Jamaica, Kosovo, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and Turkey.
The total number of schemes listed also fell by 30% to 935 from 1,339 in the previous list.
Further cull
John Batty, technical sales manager of Isle of Man-based Boal & Co, an actuarial consultancy firm which specialises in international pension schemes, said the second suspension is likely to see a further cull of schemes following the removal of the 70/30 ‘income for life’ rule.
The rule required Qrops outside the EU to earmark 70% of funds to provide members with an income for life.
From April 2017, it was replaced by a new requirement forcing Qrops from outside the EU to be approved by a local regulator in the country where it is based or such schemes face being struck off HMRC’s list.
“This comes as no surprise as those Qrops which previously qualified under the 70/30 rule need to confirm that they continue to qualify as a Qrops. I would expect a number of schemes to come off the list at this point,” Batty told International Adviser.
