Mar 03 - Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes to be Offered in Gibraltar
An announcement made this morning will see pension professionals in Gibraltar soon able to offer Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS) from Gibraltar. This ability will allow Gibraltar to build on the success of its QROPS business, established last year.
The scheme is not a registered one but is established in a country or territory outside of the UK. The scheme must however fulfil certain conditions to be categorised as a QNUP. QNUPS were introduced by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on the 15th of February 2010. A QNUPS can invest in a wide range of assets and a major attraction for establishing a QNUPS is that it is exempt from United Kingdom inheritance tax on the member’s death. Withdrawals from Gibraltar QNUPS are proposed to be subject to a tax rate of 2.5% similar to the 2.5% tax charge introduced for Gibraltar QROPS in June 2012. With the utmost probity and care Gibraltar’s pension professionals will soon be able to offer greater choice to their clients with the introduction of QNUPS.
Minister for Financial Services Albert Isola thanked his Senior Executive Michael Ashton for his efforts in delivering this important product for Gibraltar, and his predecessor Gilbert Licudi QC for the initiative and support he provided in the introduction of the earlier QROPS initiative, which this now follows.
