Last Updated on 14th October 2025
Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (ROPS) transfers are one of the options for expatriates who wish to relocate their UK-based pension funds to another country. While ROPS have been around for many years, they are complex, and we always advise seeking independent, professional retirement planning support before proceeding.
To give you a better idea of what a ROPS pension transfer entails, our specialist advisers have put together a ‘transfer template’ that shows you all of the steps from first considering a pension transfer to completing the process.
Step One: Review Your Current Pension Arrangements and Products
Any seasoned pension adviser will need to recap all of your existing pension funds and retirement assets before providing any guidance, because the right way forward may depend on:
- The value of your retirement wealth
- How closely this matches your requirements
- Where your pension funds are based
- The types of pension schemes you hold
- The conditions and terms of each fund
Once we have clarity about these aspects of your pension portfolio, we’ll also need to review other factors, such as the time until you plan to retire, where you expect to retire, and when you anticipate beginning to draw on your pension assets to finance your lifestyle.
Step Two: Consult an Experienced Wealth Manager or Financial Adviser
ROPS are a well-known mechanism that enables you to transfer a UK pension fund abroad, but it’s essential that you consider whether this is the right move for you. While it might be, you must be aware of all the other options, including a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), and what the outcomes might be if you were to choose to leave your pension funds as-is.
In addition, our advisers will discuss the implications of taxation, both in terms of exposure to transfer taxes and other charges, covered in the next step, but also in ongoing tax liabilities in the UK and your intended or current place of residency.
Step Three: Evaluate the Anticipated Costs of Your ROPS Transfer
Pension transfers inevitably come with administration costs, alongside fund management costs which can vary considerably depending on where your ROPS is based, how the pension is managed, and the value of the fund.
Some of the headline costs linked with an ROPS transfer include:
- Potential exposure to the Overseas Transfer Charge (OTC) for funds worth over £1.073 million – this is the threshold set by the Overseas Transfer Allowance (OTA).
- The admin fees levied by the ROPS you select
- Costs of managing underlying assets within your pension, including mutual funds, ETFs and bonds
- Commissions, where relevant
While the OTC will not always apply, recent government reforms mean that previous exemptions for ROPS transfers to the EU are no longer available, resulting in a significantly larger proportion of ROPS transfers being subject to a 25% tax charge.
Step Four: Verify That Your Preferred Fund Remains Approved and That You Are Eligible
ROPS must be approved by HMRC and be featured on the list of recognised schemes. This list is subject to change, and even if you’ve selected a fund that you feel is wholly suited to your needs, there is a chance that it may be removed before a transfer is made.
In addition, you need to ensure you and your pension fund are both eligible for an ROPS transfer.
Please be aware that although many countries have ROPS funds with HMRC approval, this isn’t universal. There are jurisdictions, including those in the EU, with no recognised schemes to choose from.
There is the option to pick an alternative fund in another location, such as a scheme in Malta that you can access from another European country. However, this can come with risks, such as for expats who are reliant on avoiding the OTC due to transferring a pension to a place where they are a tax resident.
Step Five: Make Key Decisions About How Your Funds Will Be Invested
Although we talk about ROPS as one big category of pensions, the reality is that there are numerous different pension schemes which meet the HMRC criteria. You need to decide how your ROPS will be structured – and ensure your chosen or shortlisted funds meet your investment risk appetite.
A ROPS acts as a pension wrapper, and can hold multiple underlying assets, including:
- Offshore bonds
- ETFs
- Mutual funds
- Stocks and shares
Your choice of investments will depend on several variables, including annual charges, risks, diversification priorities, time horizons, and other investment assets you may hold, as well as whether you need to select specific products to rebalance or maintain balance within your portfolio.
Step Six: Submit Your Formal Pension Transfer Request
If you’re at the stage where you have decided that a ROPS transfer is suitable for you and are fully aware of the potential tax charges linked with the Overseas Transfer Allowance (OTA) and Overseas Transfer Charge (OTC), you can begin the transfer process.
This can be protracted because you’ll need to give authority to your adviser, which we’ll have covered during your earlier consultations, if you wish for us to manage your ROPS transfer documentation. This includes:
- Submissions to HMRC
- Documents sent to the UK pension fund administrator
- Transfer forms and statements
You may also need to have formal evidence of advice, because the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires all UK pension fund holders with a value of £30,000 or above to seek regulated guidance before they will permit a transfer to proceed.
Step Seven: Remit All Arising Fees and Tax Charges
When the transfer is initiated, initial fees, charges, and taxes may become payable immediately, while others will be due at the end of the tax year or once the transfer has been finalised.
The UK-based pension fund manager will be required to deduct the OTC from the scheme value, if this tax is payable, before they are permitted to complete the transfer.
Step Eight: Inform the Scheme Holder of Your Planned Change in Residency Status
This step may not apply if you have already relocated, but otherwise, you remain obligated to notify the ROPS scheme manager about any changes in your residency within 60 days.
This continues for five complete tax years after your transfer, which can mean effectively being expected to inform them of future relocations for up to six years.
Step Nine: Continue to Monitor Fund Performance
When your transfer is complete and you have relocated, you can move forward with settling down to life overseas, whether you have already retired, are working, operating a business, or earning an income from other investments.
However, we strongly suggest that you continue to seek input and independent reporting to ensure your pension performs as expected and remains consistent with the returns you are counting on in retirement.
Regular reviews of your pension funds, investment assets, incomes, and budgets are essential. They can help us recommend tax efficiencies available to you, restructuring options to mitigate changing risks, or diversification strategies if your portfolio becomes unbalanced.
Step Ten: Adjust Your Retirement Savings and Investments as Necessary
Finally, it’s incredibly important that, as you approach retirement or reach new life stages, you remain actively in control of your pension assets, wherever they may be located. Risk appetites tend to drop as we reach our retirement years, and if your plans change, you need to have the support necessary to make informed judgments about what that means for your wealth.
For more information about ROPs transfers or any of the details we’ve shared here, you are welcome to contact your nearest Chase Buchanan Private Wealth Management team or review the resources about international pension transfers and ROPs available via our Knowledge Hub.
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Chase Buchanan Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission with CIF Licence 287/15 and offers its services in the EU on a cross-border basis as per the provisions of MiFID.
Chase Buchanan Insurance Services, Agents & Advisors is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Insurance Companies Control Service with License No 6883 and offers services in the EU on a cross-border basis as per the provisions of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD).
Investing in financial instruments involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The value of investments may go up as well as down and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. You may lose part or all of your invested capital.
*Information correct as at October 2025
