The Finance Act 2025, bringing into force measures announced in the October 30, 2024, Budget, has now come into force.

Its pensions provisions include:

  • From Budget Day, removing the exemption from the 25 per cent overseas transfer charge for transfers to Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA and Gibraltar. The exemption is maintained where transfers were requested before October 30, 2024, and are made before April 30, 2025.
  • From April 6, 2025, providing that Overseas Pension Schemes and Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA are aligned with those in the rest of the world. This means Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA must be regulated by a regulator in that country and Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA must be established in a country with which the UK has a double taxation agreement.
  • From April 6, 2025, requiring scheme administrators of UK registered pension schemes to be UK resident.

HMRC will seek confirmation from relevant schemes that they meet these criteria.

The changes applying inheritance tax to unused pension funds are not included in this Finance Act.



Contacts

Lesley Browning
Lesley Browning
Partner
Email
lesley.browning@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +44 20 7444 2448 / +44 77 1030 3311
Shane O'Reilly
Shane O'Reilly
Partner
Email
shane.o'reilly@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +44 (20) 74443895

Industry:

Practice area:

Recent publications

London skyline at sunset

Publication

Secondary capital raising regime

In July 2022 the UK Secondary Capital Raising Review published its report (Report) setting out a series of bold and wide-ranging recommendations for improving the secondary capital raising regime in the UK designed to make it quicker, more flexible, more inclusive of retail investors and more cost-effective, as well as moving towards digitisation and making better use of technology.

United Kingdom | May 02, 2025

London skyscrapers

Publication

Essential Corporate news – Week ending 2 May 2025

This briefing forms part of a series looking in detail at the SRA’s guidance for in-house teams, issued following a thematic review of the sector, recognising the growth and importance of the in-house role and the unique pressures to which in-house solicitors can be subject.

United Kingdom | May 02, 2025

Corporate, M&A and securities

Publication

US/Ukraine minerals deal: Digging into the detail

The United States and Ukraine governments have announced the signature of an agreement of a minerals deal for Ukraine.

Global | May 01, 2025

Mining
Site search

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .

Register now