HMRC goalpost shift puts 200 pensions jobs back in danger

AROUND 200 jobs in Guernsey's pensions sector are under renewed threat as the UK has again moved the goalposts for Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes.

But Treasury and Resources has confirmed that existing plans should be safe because the changes would not be retrospective.

Emergency adjustments to Guernsey's system were made earlier this year after a UK warning that if a jurisdiction offered tax advantages that were not intended to be available under Qrops rules, it would exclude them from registration.

Treasury minister Charles Parkinson said yesterday that it was now clear that the UK wanted to scrap the idea of third party jurisdiction altogether after HMRC announced that it would register Guernsey schemes only if it was satisfied they were purely for local residents.