The term Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) is used to denote a pension fund or trust domiciled outside of the United Kingdom (UK) which is eligible to manage UK occupational pension benefits of former UK residents.
In order to qualify as a QROPS, a pension fund must report information which is relevant to UK taxation to the UK tax service (HMRC).
Former residents of the United Kingdom can transfer their UK occupational pension benefits to a QROPS if they meet eligibility requirements.
The number of Swiss occupational pension funds and vested benefits foundations which qualify as QROPS is currently low. The reason for this is that the HMRC made changes to the legal requirements which schemes must meet with regards to the age at which members can choose to retire. Only a few Swiss pension funds currently meet QROPS retirement age criteria. These include PensExpert and the CERN pension fund (CERN employees only).
More on this topic:
QNUPS explained
Swiss pillar 2a explained
Swiss vested benefits account comparison
Swiss retirement fund comparison
