Hi Anne, you should indeed be entitled to the 7.5% tax rate (which comes closer to 6.75% after the special 10% allowance (capped) for overseas pensions). Assuming you don’t have an S1 (and presumably won’t have private medical cover either if you’ve a CV), there will indeed be @9% prélèvements sociaux on your lump sum. I assume you haven’t taken any previous amounts from the plan (as you will probably be denied the 7.5% treatment in most cases).
To reclaim the UK emergency tax (which will in all likelihood be applied) you need Form France Individual which I will try to attach below, + guidance. You need to have it stamped by your Impôts office as proof of French residence, and then you send it to HMRC. Then wait! There is a lot of guidance on this site if you search ‘Form France Individual’ on how to complete it, and steer it through the Impôts and HMRC as quickly as possible.
#HMRC DT_Ind_France_01_20.pdf (265.3 KB)
#HMRC DT_France_notes.pdf (251.5 KB)
Best of luck.
Dear George, thanks so much for your swift reply! I haven’t taken any of the pension previously so that should be ok. I’m not sure what an S1 form is however I have a carte vitale and therefore pay French national health insurance and I also have a complementary private health insurance through Crédit Mutuel.
Hi, you can get this form if another country (e.g. UK) becomes responsible for your social security, for example you start receiving a (UK) state pension or other ‘exportable’ benefit. Or you are a frontier worker. (e.g. work in the UK, reside in France. It’s unlikely if you have worked in France however worth checking out whether you may have a possibility now or in the future to obtain the S1 as it would handily eliminate the 9% prélèvements sociaux.
Ok, super thanks for that. I’m a transfrontalier Suisse so I’ll enquire, I’m wondering if that was the formula I filled in to do 39.99% working from home in France. I’ll ask my colleagues. Thanks so much for your replies. I have a chartered accountant and financial lawyer (both with the same company) who are willing to sign off on this, however I’ve just been told that my pension holder wants someone who is registered with the French equivalent of the FCA (AMA?) and they are not. It’s so frustrating as they are putting roadblocks at every turn. I understand if a British advisor needs to be with the FCA but a French one??! I’m literally a millimeter away from being able to do this.
I defer to those with actual personal financial planning expertise, but my understanding is that you only needed sign off for certain specific transactions involving Defined Contribution pensions, eg if there is guarantee of income involved. I assume you’re not talking about a Defined Benefit pension?
I could well be wrong but have you challenged the pension provider to justify why you need sign off at all (as opposed to best practices etc?) if this is a DC pension? I’ve taken various DC lump sums and made clear to the providers that I accept full responsibility for my actions and I do not need advice. Accepted by 3 providers so far…
My pension provider - Aegon - and my friend’s provider - Royal London - both asked whether we had taken advice and both were satisfied when we simply said “yes”
No proof of having taken advice was required.
Unfortunately my pension provider wants the full name, address and me to sign and swear that the advisor is registered with the French equivalent of the FCA. I will now try and find a competent conseiller en gestion de patrimoine. Thank you to everyone who replied. I really appreciate the support!
If that provider did not provide any prior notification that they were now applying this extra requirement I am wondering if it would be worth challenging them on whst legal basis are they relying on to sdd this new extra requirement.
If there’s no statutory (ie law of the land) requirement that they can state clearly which law and paragraph within it, requires them to do this then it would only be a contractual change. And if that’s the case should have been notified to you at a minimum and you should have been given tbe option to reject or told what would = your acceptance (even tacit by not rejecting within, say, 4 weeks of first being made aware). As contractual changes have to be agreed on both sides to take effect.
If they can point to a statute although they may stretch things and try one or two on, as it’s a UK statute then as you’re a longstanding French resident I’d tell them it’s impossible for you to fulfil that requirement in the absence of UK firms in the market who sre authorised to advise French residents and vice versa. Would a complaint to the FOS work?
It never ceases to amaze me either, how keen finanxial providers are to keep hanging on to people’s money and keep it in their books and earning on it.
IANAL but there are at least 2 posters here who might be able to suggest a way of pointing out that if it’s physically impossible for you to obtain “advice” as there are no advisers available to you as a French resident in a position to provide “advice” acceotable to the UK, tbis is not your fault. As both French advisers (because the funds are in UK) and UK advisers (because no authorisation to advise French residents) will reject you as a client they are not authorised to advise. And as the requirement is physically impossible for you ro provide due to qualifyibg providers simply not being available in the market it should not be made on you.
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