Down Under Live - Leeds 27th and 28th March

Montfort International will be exhibiting at the Down Under Live show this coming weekend 27th and 28th March. The event hosted by the Australia and New Zealand Magazine will be held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

The event brings together a wealth of migration industry professionals all under one roof.

Montfort International will be exhibiting at the event and our Managing Director will be speaking at some of the migration finance seminars about the issues such as QROPS that you face in your migration.

Please feel free to come along and meet the Montfort International pension transfer advice, Australia financial advice and New Zealand financial advice team. They will be on hand to give you an insight into the issues you will face and some of the opportunities available to you, including QROPS.

If you are not able to make it to Leeds at the weekend to find out about QROPS, pension transfer advice or to listen to one of our financial seminars and meet our team, but would like to talk to us about your migration financial advice and QROPS, please contact Andrew Hains (Senior Client Adviser) at Montfort International on 01483 202072. Alternatively please visit our website www.miplc.co.uk

Alistair Darling to Target Tax Evasion

With the expected crackdown from Alistair Darling on offshore tax evaders in tomorrows budget – must come a need for IFA’s to know they are not becoming unwittingly caught up in the net. How many understand the implication of Gaines-Cooper, Double Tax Agreements, Australia and New Zealand Visas and QROPS. A lot of learning is required very, very quickly!

With heavy betting on the maximum penalty rising to 200% of the tax owed, what will the impact be of poor pension advice.

With stories of QROPS being set up with pensions for those who have no intention of leaving UK, we can see advisers caught up in the onslaught. With HMRC with increasing capability to unearth these people with Tax Information Exchange Agreements and revisions of Double Tax Agreements and footprints left by QROPS transfers. There is a growing need to check who you are dealing with if a QROPS transfer is being recommended. Please be sure to check that your adviser is registered with the Financial Services Authority.

For more information on Australia and New Zealand QROPS pension transfer advice please contact the QROPS pension transfer advice team at Montfort International on 01483 202072 or visit our website www.miplc.co.uk.

Even more reason to come to us early for migration and pension transfer advice

One of the biggest barriers to delivering our financial advice quickly to our clients is our reliance on obtaining information from occupational pension scheme administrators. Often, the delay at their end is also due to awaiting details from the government relating to the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP). This, along with various other details, is vital for us to make an assessment as to whether or not to transfer your pension to an overseas scheme known as a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

This delay has been an ongoing issue and is unfortunately only set to get worse in the near future. Industry figures have recently warned that HM Revenue & Customs will struggle to cope with a deluge of information requests from pension scheme trustees attempting to equalise GMP payments; a problem that has existed for 20 years and now needs to be addressed.

In order to deliver our migration advice to you in plenty of time before your departure and, where appropriate, arrange for a transfer of your benefits to an overseas pension scheme, it therefore becomes even more essential for you to come to us as early as possible for your free initial consultation.

Please contact us on 01483 202072 for more information.

The “Ashcroft question”: Can I, too, escape the UK tax net?

You are unlikely to have missed the unprecedented level of media comment about the tax residence and domicile of several public figures and their apparent ability to avoid paying UK tax on at least part of their income. There has also been speculation about a possible exodus of talent from the UK as the higher tax rates and potentially less friendly pension contribution treatment impact on UK residents.
Even before tighter domicile provisions start to bite in the UK we have seen a string of (mostly successful) court cases brought by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on the meaning of residence and ordinary residence in the UK.
Those coming to work in the UK can limit their UK tax exposure on arrival, particularly if split service contracts are used for UK and non-UK duties. It is also possible to escape the UK tax net if you go abroad for full-time work, although there are increasingly tight rules governing visits to the UK to retain family, social and other ties. (The 90 days a year maximum was once interpreted as excluding the days of arrival and departure, but now they too are counted.)
If however you are retiring or merely electing to live abroad then the UK tax situation is far more fraught. A much more distinct break from the UK is required and migrants need expert financial planning advice to ensure they do not inadvertently make costly mistakes in what is an extremely complex situation. For over 15 years the experts at Montfort International plc have been providing exactly this advice to their clients. For a free, no obligation chat contact them on 01483 202072 or info@miplc.co.uk.

Even more need for UK migrants to have expert pension advice

Those pensioners who had moved to countries such as New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Canada (among others) have been dealt a bitter blow.
The European Court of Human Rights yesterday rejected an appeal from a group of UK expatriate pensioners by an 11 to 6 majority.
This means that they will continue to have their UK State Pension payments frozen i.e. with no annual indexation increase. The pensioners wanted to receive increases in line with inflation as they would if they were still resident in the UK.
The Department for Work and Pensions who are responsible for the payment of the UK State Pension were pleased with the outcome as their primary responsibility is to aid those pensioners in the UK who contribute to our economy through spending and payment of UK taxes.
Those who are currently in the process of planning their migration to a country with no reciprocal agreement really need to make sure they have suitable private pension provisions in place where QROPS arrangements and advantages can then be utilized.
Suitable pension planning and appropriate financial advice prior to your migration can lead to your successful migration. Out of those migrants who return to the UK, one of the main reasons for their decision to return is finances. Pension planning prior to departure can mean that you can take advantage of UK tax reliefs. In many instances UK pensions can then be transferred to a QROPS in a more tax friendly jurisdiction.
A decision to transfer to a QROPS however should not be taken lightly, particularly where final salary schemes such as the NHS, Teachers, Armed Forces and Local Government are concerned. You should ensure you take appropriate advice from a UK qualified financial adviser registered by the Financial Services Authority.
For further information and advice on expatriate pension, QROPS planning, financial advice and information on how the European Court of Human Rights ruling will affect migration to Australia or New Zealand, please contact Andrew Hains, Senior Client Adviser at Montfort International on 01483 202072 or andrew.hains@miplc.co.uk.

The Gaines - Cooper case highlights the need for special expertise in migration financial advice

Many financial advisers may not have recognised how significant Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) have become as part of their financial planning processes. With more and more British Residents becoming expats, those who ignore offshore options do so at their peril. Montfort International’s specialist QROPS arm, Offshore QROPS, recommends advisers and those contemplating a QROPS (wherever they are based in the world) to heed the recent collapse of the Robert Gaines -Cooper UK residency case and his subsequent huge UK tax liability.
If you are moving, have moved or could move to a different country then specialist advice is required. Montfort International has been helping migrants for over 15 years. Sometimes the need to change domicile to simplify tax affairs means insufficient time is spent on ensuring non-UK tax residency. With many expats still with UK pension contracts (whether defined benefits, defined contribution schemes or personal contracts) an offshore QROPS solution may be in their best interests regardless of UK residency or domicile.
Detaching yourself from UK domicile is a must, especially if you have pension assets in the UK, but where do you go for advice?
Your UK IFA would normally head for the major pension providers or life offices - hardly a good choice. They are unlikely to be interested in providing a technical service that will result in haemorrhaging the funds under their management.
Some UK IFAs do offer specialist technical advice, but what do they know about international taxation and visas? So where do you get advice on offshore QROPS? We believe the advice offering at Montfort International stands head and shoulders over others. Montfort has 15 years experience in the field of international pension transfers. If QROPS history is your yardstick then others have less than four years!
Montfort International has QROPS solutions that mean you not only do not need to purchase a life annuity after the age of 75, but can avoid high levels of taxation on fund balances (created by alternatively secured pensions) on death of a scheme member.
Clearly the Gaines - Cooper case means financial planners need to brush up on their international tax expertise. Montfort International already has it, so call 0(044)1483 202072 now or email info@miplc.co.uk.

The Gaines-Cooper case impacts on thousands of migrants

On 16th February 2010 the UK Court of Appeal ruled that Robert Gaines-Cooper was liable to pay UK tax despite living based in the Seychelles.
Mr Gaines-Cooper, 72, bought a French-style plantation house in the Seychelles in 1976. He renovated it at a cost of £1.6 million and it has long been his chief residence. He had kept to HMRC’s rules by spending no more than 91 days a year in Britain.
However he also has a house in Henley-on-Thames, where he keeps his collections of paintings, guns and classic cars, and where his second wife and son lived for some time. Mr Gaines-Cooper’s son went to an English school in 2002 and his will was drawn up under English law.
Although the three Court of Appeal judges expressed “some sympathy” for Mr Gaines-Cooper, they ruled that he had never qualified for exemption from British taxes as a non-resident. They said that England had remained the “centre of gravity of his life and interests”. Lord Justice Moses felt Mr Gaines-Cooper had failed to show “a distinct break” from his social and family ties in the UK. Now he may be pursued for tax bills dating back to 1993, estimated at about £30 million.
The ruling is a serious blow for Brits who are based overseas but visit Britain frequently. After the court’s decision Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs vowed to increase its efforts to catch similar people.
Clearly the Gaines-Cooper case means financial planners need to brush up on their international tax expertise, so where do you go for advice? We believe the advice offering at Montfort International plc stands head and shoulders over others. Montfort has 15 years experience in the field of international migration and pension transfers, so contact them now on 01483 202072 or info@miplc.co.uk.

Will 10% Death Tax encourage greater migration?

Geraint Davies Managing Director of migration advice experts Montfort International plc believes it just might. “These proposals will hit so many moderate-to-high earners. If you can change countries then not only could you escape this tax, but countries like Australia and New Zealand do not levy any inheritance Tax or Death Duties. It seems according to Davies “Andy Burnham, UK’s Health Secretary may not have factored in the consequences of migration. There is only a certain amount of tax – people are prepared to pay. Having a UK pensions that can be transferred into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme is looking more and more attractive”.

“Burnham wants to see those with bigger houses (apparently it will affect 17,000,000 families) pay more toward social care for the elderly. So the lure of sunshine, the potential for a lower cost of living and freedom form being told what to do is going to be a magnet and then coupled with the potential to take greater tax free capital and income – will prove to be one slap across the face to many”.

Sound UK exit advice is a must, a pension transfer overseas into a QROPS has significant advantages.