QROPS Advice: Concerns over NZ's QROPS status quelled

Fears New Zealand may follow Singapore in having its QROPS status removed have been quashed after an agreement was reached between HM Revenue & Customs and the country’s government actuary, according to an industry source.

International Adviser reported last month there were growing fears New Zealand could be stripped of its QROPS status because of concerns over some of its registered schemes.

According to Stephen Ward, managing director of pension transfer experts, Premier Pension Solutions SL, the concerns related to a tax break applicable to employer contributions into a scheme known as Kiwisavers.

Ward says he and a number of other advisers flagged the issue to New Zealand’s Government Actuary and, after discussions with HMRC, the problem has been resolved and members of the scheme informed.

While HMRC would not confirm details on the case in its most recent list of QROPS, published on 8 February this year, the New Zealand Kiwisavers scheme continues to appear.

However, it should be noted HMRC states on the list that ‘publication should not be seen as confirmation by HMRC it has verified all the information supplied by the scheme in its application’.

Ward said: “There has been a lot of misinformed speculation about New Zealand as a QROPS jurisdiction.

“We were involved in alerting the New Zealand authorities of this minor Kiwisavers tax issue and are delighted with the outcome and that any possible uncertainty surrounding using New Zealand schemes has now been clarified once and for all.”