S615(6), a company named after the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) law that allows such schemes to operate, has been pitching the International Retirement Benefit Scheme directly to UK companies since 1997, but has now made it available to advisers via wrap platforms.
S615(6) rules allow UK-domi-ciled employees who work abroad all the time to save in a company pension scheme, while retaining tax exemptions usually awarded to non-domiciled workers.
The firm’s managing director, Gary Draper, said the nature of s615(6) and the difficulties faced by multinational corporations with company pension schemes meant there was a potentially huge market for the product.
“It falls outside a lot of the restrictions that apply to registered pension schemes,” he said.
“It has far more flexibility in terms of investment power and in terms of how the benefits may be taken. The only restriction is that you have to be non-UK resident to benefit from it.”
For employees earning higher wages and are subject to high taxes, the product also supports salary sacrifice, while still allowing access to tax-efficient pension savings.
Following retirement, annuity payments and lump sums are also awarded tax free.
Draper added that HMRC was unlikely to close such a loophole because it is not detrimental to the UK tax system.
