UK Pension Transfers to Ireland
As we continue to get more and more enquiries from people living in Ireland who once lived in the UK and still hold pension accounts back in the UK, an appropriate section of the exit agreement is as follows:
S127 of the agreement of the withdrawal of the UK from EU provides that – “Union law shall be applicable to and in the UK during the transition period”
What this means in practice is that up until the 31st December 2020 (at least) any reference to EU Member State in Irish legislation will include the UK. In pension terms the following will continue to apply in respect of the UK:
- An employee moving to the UK will be considered an outgoing worker;
- Trustees will still have a statutory duty to make arrangements to pay benefits to pension scheme members in the UK;
- Certain Irish / UK pension schemes will still be considered as EU cross-border schemes;
- Pension transfers to and from the UK will be treated as transfers between EU States.
Although a shrinking market, there are still two companies in Ireland in a position to take UK pension transfers. If the Euro / Sterling currency exchange is a concern, a Sterling transfer can be facilitated, allowing you to convert this into Euro at a later date at any time of your choosing.
If you have a pension fund in the UK and would like to review options in relation to bringing this back to Ireland, we can answer your questions.