Has anyone done a recent transfer of uk private pension using QUORPS? We are investigating this but the Canadian FA who is on the UK gov list of approved agents has said we need to pay over $5000 to get a suitability report from a British FA (CET report). We have reached out to British FA’s but had difficulty finding someone who deals with this part of the process. Is this the standard cost?

we are in BC.

I did in 2020. Mark Walker at Sterling Advisory was a great help. https://sterlingadvisory.com/

do you remember having to pay £3000 to get your advisory report by any chance?

=Do you mean QROPS....?

I remain unconvinced that there is any compelling reason to move pension investments out of the UK just because the owner emigrated.

The regulations protecting pension funds in the UK, the fees, and in most cases the fund choice and performance are second to none. ... These are precisely the reasons why there are so very few QROPS still available and the fees are high, to fund compliance with the requirements for a QROPS.

Conversely moving your pension out of the UK is likely to lead to fewer protections and almost certainly to higher costs/ fees.

Please think very carefully about what benefits you think you will gain by moving your funds out of the UK and into a QROPS. And don't walk, run away from any "expat financial advisor" trying to sell you on a QROPS!

If the owner intends to reside in the new country permanently, there can be many reasons why transferring it makes sense. The ability to be able to transfer the funds tax free to one's spouse upon death was the main one for me. My wife will then be able to decide to do whatever she wants with the funds, just as I can when I reach the age of 55 means such a transfer makes perfect sense to me. Others' mileage may vary.

There are undoubtedly "reasons", but without the advice of an unbiased, knowledgeable financial adviser, someone might not properly balance the pros and cons, the costs and savings.

For example, if you move your pension funds to enable a tax free transfer on death, but in doing so increase the annual fees by say 1%-2%, then compounded over the time to retirement you may well find that the additional fees and foregone increase in value is most of, or even exceeds the tax that would have to be paid on death.

Can I ask that you stop trying to offer advice on Canadian tax? It is clearly something you know nothing about.