Advice on Transferring UK Pensions

When you move to the US, it is not uncommon to want to simplify your finances. Depending on the type of UK pension you have, and your needs, there can be benefits to doing a UK pension transfer.

The Benefits of a UK Pension Transfer

US Focused

We use UK pension providers dedicated to operating fully flexible pensions for US persons.

Taking Control

Make sense of your UK pension in the context of your overall US financial needs.

Consolidation

Having the ability to consolidate more than one UK pension into one easier to manage pension.

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Pension Flexibility

Being able to determine your own pension drawdown strategy and to retain the capital value of your UK pension.

Simplification

Having Florin Pensions simplify the management of your UK pension giving you peace of mind.

Investment Options

Being able to determine your GBP or USD investment strategy with Florin Pensions based upon your risk appetite.

Death Benefits

Providing choices in the way any death benefits may be paid to your dependents and/or beneficiaries.

Ongoing Advice & Support

You will receive ongoing pensions and investment advice from your dedicated US based Florin Pensions advisor.

Why is a Pension Review Important?

Whether you have one or several UK pensions, a UK pension transfer into a new UK personal pension can have many advantages. But it may not always be the right answer. Your current pension may have certain guarantees which, upon transfer, could be lost. Some older UK pension plans can also have high exit charges. For reasons like these, it is important to get advice from a financial advisor before making any decision to transfer your UK pension.

Case Studies

Learn how we have helped some of our clients gain control of their UK pensions.

Defined Benefit & Defined Contribution Pension Consolidation

Drawing Pension Income

Divorce

Talk to an Advisor

Whether or not your UK pension is a significant part of your retirement savings, with the right guidance and advice, it can play a meaningful role in your retirement.

Talk to an Advisor

Frequently Asked Questions

The transfer of a UK occupational pension scheme or personal pension plan to any US retirement account is not permitted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). However, there can be benefits to transferring your UK pension to a fully flexible UK pension like a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). Before determining whether a pension transfer could be of benefit, it is important for a financial advisor to understand your retirement needs and objectives.

Whether or not you can transfer out of a UK defined benefit pension to a personal pension, either in the UK or abroad, will first depend upon whether it is a private sector defined benefit scheme or a public sector defined benefit scheme.

If it is a private sector defined benefit scheme you can undertake a transfer out, subject to certain requirements detailed below. However, since the introduction of the new UK pension freedoms in April 2015, the UK government banned any transfer out from unfunded public sector defined benefit schemes to defined contribution pensions. Examples of unfunded public sector schemes include the NHS Pension and Teachers Pension.

Transfers out of funded public sector schemes (like the Local Government Pension Scheme) and private sector defined benefit schemes to a personal pension are, however, still permitted providing you receive the required financial advice from a UK regulated pension transfer specialist. The requirement for specialist UK financial advice is irrespective of the fact that you are an expatriate living outside of the UK. The only exception to the advice requirement is where your defined benefit pension has a CETV (also known as a ‘cash-equivalent transfer value’) of £30,000 or less.

Deciding whether to transfer your benefits out of a defined benefit pension to a personal pension is a very important decision which will affect the rest of your life. The required specialist UK financial advice will, amongst other things, compare the benefits being given up from your defined benefit pension with those that could be offered by the new proposed pension plan. While transferring benefits from a defined benefit scheme to a personal plan can be the right outcome for some people, it is not appropriate for everyone. Don’t only look at the size of your transfer value, you must weigh up your options and reach the decision that is right for you. This includes considering how you will afford retirement and achieve your retirement income goals.

In order to assist our clients to meet the UK requirement for specialist UK financial advice, Florin Pensions works with an appropriately qualified UK independent financial adviser to prepare Suitability Reports for you taking into consideration your specific circumstances as an expatriate residing in the US.

If you are getting divorced in the US and you have a UK occupational or personal pension, your UK pension may be taken into consideration in your US divorce settlement. The way in which your UK pension is factored into your US divorce settlement will determine what happens to it. For example, your US divorce settlement may simply offset your UK pension with other assets of similar value in the US or elsewhere. This can be the preferred choice for couples.

However, it is not uncommon for Florin Pensions to see a US divorce settlement requiring a UK pension to be “split” so that a portion goes to an ex-spouse. As a US divorce settlement has no legal standing in the UK, for a UK pension provider to “split” a UK pension, the pension provider will require you to obtain a UK court order setting out/confirming the terms of any pension split. Whilst there are various options available to UK courts in divorce settlements, we typically see clients engage UK legal counsel to obtain what is called a UK pension sharing order to implement their US divorce settlement.