Over 30,000 people have transferred their UK pensions to a Malta QROPS even though they don’t live there. We have spoken with many Malta QROPS pension schemes and they have confirmed to us, “they have plenty of New Zealand and Australian resident members that have transferred in UK pensions”. This is surprising given no authorised financial advisers we know of in New Zealand or Australia would ever recommend Malta as a good place for pension transfers for New Zealand or Australian residents, simply because of the lack of double tax treaties.
Malta is now bringing in new rules for people with funds there that require them to be adviser by an adviser regulated in the country they live in. Large numbers of people will be without an adviser to contact regarding their Malta QROPS because their original adviser will not be allowed to.
Because of these changes New Zealand and Australian based holders of pensions in Malta QROPS will likely be left high and dry by the adviser that helped with their pensions, that is, if you have not been already.
If you live in New Zealand or Australia and have a pension in Malta, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man or Jersey you really should understand what your current position is; will you continue to have an adviser dedicated to managing your Malta QROPS or for that matter pensions in any of the other jurisdictions? If not take steps to remedy the situation. You really should check that your financial adviser is able to fulfil their obligations in accordance with these significant rule changes. If you do not have a New Zealand or Australian based adviser to help you manage your Malta based or other offshore pension and at the same time evaluate if transferring it to a New Zealand based scheme is a good idea or not then contact us. The sooner you act the better able you’ll be to protect what’s likely to be an important financial asset”.
