keyitaly.com’s blog

Interesting pension news this week for those buying property in Italy. A lot of Britons are thoroughly fed up with their home country - too expensive, too crime ridden, too wet (I sit in my south London office looking out the window at an April thunderstorm) and too hard to make the most of our hard-earned pension. So news this week that Britons retiring abroad can take their pensions with them, will certainly be exciting some interest.

400,000 of us move abroad each year, and new rules allow us to move our pensions offshore too. The scheme you’re looking for is a Qualifying Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS). Move your money there (and to a jurisdiction such as the Isle of Man, the Republic of Ireland, Singapore or Hong Kong, and your cash is no longer subject to HM Revenue and Customs rules. The benefits to the hard-done-by UK pensioner are eye popping. Compare the Isle of Man’s system to the UK’s. Bigger tax-free lump sums, inheritance tax a tenth of UK rates, freedom to buy into residential property. Best of all … no need to buy into a miserable annuity paying out 6% a year. Wait five years and you can take your pension as cash to invest as YOU choose. You could, therefore, take your bunce and put it into Italian property investments should you wish. Those buying property in Italy, take note.