Five Things US Residents Should Know If They Have A UK Pension

If you have a pension in the UK and are currently residing in the US there are a few things that you need to be aware of in terms of the current UK pension market and how to receive benefits as a US resident. These points only refer to Private or Company (Defined Benefit/ Final Salary) Pensions and not the UK State Pension.

If you have a Private Pension in the UK, whilst it will allow you to receive a Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS) at retirement age of 25% of the pension's value, the treaty between the UK and the US does not protect you from being taxed on this in the US.

When you draw an income from your pension you are going to be open to double taxation in both the UK and the US.

The current deficit levels of Defined Benefit Scheme Pensions in the UK has now exceeded GBP 300 billion! This deficit is increasing annually and putting a lot of pension pots at risk.

The majority of Defined Benefit Scheme Pensions only permit you to pass 50% of your pension on in the event of death and only to a surviving spouse. Do you know what your pension scheme permits?

The recent changes to UK Pension laws, whilst seemingly beneficial for the pensioner, are actually set to bring in nearly GBP 2 billion of extra taxable income for the UK Government.

If you contributed to a pension whilst you were in the UK you do have the opportunity to transfer if offshore to another HMRC approved scheme within the EU. Loadstone Group have set up a new site to help guide you through some of the ins and outs of what options may be available to you.

To make use of this site and receive further information please visit: www.myukpensionoffshore.com and follow the instructions.

For further information on UK Pension Transfers visit www.ithinkabouttomorrow.com

For our Group site please visit: