how do you transfer your retirement money to the usa

[SimoFati 0]

is this realy possible with money saved up thru the government plans?

if yes do you know how it can be done from europe to the usa?

thank you so much

[perfect 39]

Difficult if not impossible to do because the retirement fund regulations are so different between countries.

USA generally does not authorize transfers from Europe.

We are occasionally asked about the possibility of transferring pension benefits from UK "exempt approved" contracts to US Schemes. (Exempt approved covers all of the contracts that we normally come across e.g. Stakeholder, PPP, RAP, EPP, SSAS and Occupational Schemes).

After some research, we eventually spoke to the Inland Revenue who clarified the situation for us.

The bottom line is that such a transfer will never gain approval under the current rules.

The problem is not the UK Inland Revenue but the US IRS.

The equivalent to UK 'exempt approved' schemes are 'qualified' retirement plans in the US.

All such plans are only allowed to accept "rollovers" (the American term for a transfer) from another "qualified" plan.

Obviously, UK "exempt approved" Schemes do not seek "qualifying" status (for tax purposes) in the US and therefore, the IRS will not sanction any transfers from UK Schemes.

There are unapproved schemes in the US rather like UK FURBS (Funded Unapproved Retirement Benefits Schemes) but, like the UK, our Inland Revenue will not allow a transfer to such a scheme.

However, you may have substantial capital invested in UK Pension Plans. It is therefore important that these plans are managed efectively and professionally until retirement age is reached.

At retirement you will have all the usual choices associated with UK pension plans. However, there is an additional risk! This extra risk revolves around your pensions being denominated in sterling, paying income in sterling and probably being biased towards sterling assets whilst your costs of living are being paid for in US dollars.

It is therefore important to continue monitoring your pension and managing it effectively after retirement.

Link: http://www.international-pensions.com/pensions_usa.php

[SimoFati 0]

Difficult if not impossible to do because the retirement fund regulations are so different between countries.

USA generally does not authorize transfers from Europe.

We are occasionally asked about the possibility of transferring pension benefits from UK "exempt approved" contracts to US Schemes. (Exempt approved covers all of the contracts that we normally come across e.g. Stakeholder, PPP, RAP, EPP, SSAS and Occupational Schemes).

After some research, we eventually spoke to the Inland Revenue who clarified the situation for us.

The bottom line is that such a transfer will never gain approval under the current rules.

The problem is not the UK Inland Revenue but the US IRS.

The equivalent to UK 'exempt approved' schemes are 'qualified' retirement plans in the US.

All such plans are only allowed to accept "rollovers" (the American term for a transfer) from another "qualified" plan.

Obviously, UK "exempt approved" Schemes do not seek "qualifying" status (for tax purposes) in the US and therefore, the IRS will not sanction any transfers from UK Schemes.

There are unapproved schemes in the US rather like UK FURBS (Funded Unapproved Retirement Benefits Schemes) but, like the UK, our Inland Revenue will not allow a transfer to such a scheme.

However, you may have substantial capital invested in UK Pension Plans. It is therefore important that these plans are managed efectively and professionally until retirement age is reached.

At retirement you will have all the usual choices associated with UK pension plans. However, there is an additional risk! This extra risk revolves around your pensions being denominated in sterling, paying income in sterling and probably being biased towards sterling assets whilst your costs of living are being paid for in US dollars.

It is therefore important to continue monitoring your pension and managing it effectively after retirement.

Link: http://www.international-pensions.com/pensions_usa.php

thank you for the infos

I was wondering, if it would be the same if the transfer is from italy not the uk. I am thinking it may be even harder considering how bureauctratic italy is

[perfect 39]

I don't know - sorry - but it wouldn't surprise me since the problem seems to lie with the IRS itself.

It's a bummer as I have two pretty healthy UK pension funds that are just sitting there that would be hugely valuable in $$ but I can't get them here.