# UK Expat living in US needs advice on transferring existing UK private pension to UK SIPP



## gglover (Jul 6, 2021)

Hi !
I would really appreciate advice on what my options are for transferring my existing UK private pension to a UK SIPP. This may also help others who are in a similar situation.

Here are some details:

My UK private pension is currently with Standard life and is under 30,000 GBP
I intend to retire in the USA in @15 years time
I do not have a UK bank account, I only have my US bank account
I am a US citizen but didn't renew my UK citizenship
I wish to invest 100% of my pension in the US stock market

Currently, this is what I have found through talking with various UK companies:

I am forced to keep my pension within the UK and cannot transfer it to the US
Standard Life and other companies I contacted (AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown) are unable to support my US bank account and can only help me if I have a UK bank account
The only company I found so far who could support my US bank account is MyExpatSIPP (myexpatsipp.com). They also support dual currencies (GBP, USD), non-UK citizens like myself and allow investing in US stocks. Their fees are much higher than most other UK SIPP companies unfortunately, pretty much double.

Question: Does anyone know of any other UK SIPP companies that could support my situation ? If not, I'll have to sign up with MyExpatSIPP I guess.

If you have an active account with MyExpatSIPP please let me know so we can connect as when I open my SIPP with them we will both receive 75 GBP! This is a limited time promotion FYI, their customer service team told me about it.

Thank you in advance !
Gordon


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

This question has been asked many times over the years - and you are the only person I know who has come up with a company who has any options for US/UK investments.

no one has found any way to transfer pension/SIPP investments to the US
no-one has found a company who will only deal with a US bank -
if you want to invest 100% of your investment in US stock, why can't you do that while the actual investment is in the UK ie pick a US stock/mutual fund

As an aside even if you took out US citizenship you did not lose your British citizenship - there is no renewing of UK citizenship, it's yours for life.


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## gglover (Jul 6, 2021)

Thank you very much for your reply, I appreciate it !

To answer your questions,

Standard Life does not allow me to invest my pension in US stocks, only their own mutual funds which I find too limiting.
To clarify, MyExpatSIPP will hold my pension in the UK but will allow me to hold it in GBP or USD, and also allow me to invest in UK or US stocks, perfect for me.

Thanks for letting me know that I have not lost my British citizenship !
Gordon






Crawford said:


> This question has been asked many times over the years - and you are the only person I know who has come up with a company who has any options for US/UK investments.
> 
> no one has found any way to transfer pension/SIPP investments to the US
> no-one has found a company who will only deal with a US bank -
> ...


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

gglover said:


> Thanks for letting me know that I have not lost my British citizenship !


There are a couple of edge cases related to certain British nationals (overseas) and British Overseas Citizens but unless you were born in a former UK colony or possession then these are not going to apply.

Even if you had to renounce your citizenship (say, as part of the general renunciation make as part of the US naturalisation ceremony) that renunciation would not be recognised by the UK unless you also made a separate declaration to the Home Secretary - most likely through the UK Border Agency.


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## gglover (Jul 6, 2021)

Thank you for letting me know of my permanent UK citizenship Moulard ! Is good to know !
Gordon





Moulard said:


> There are a couple of edge cases related to certain British nationals (overseas) and British Overseas Citizens but unless you were born in a former UK colony or possession then these are not going to apply.
> 
> Even if you had to renounce your citizenship (say, as part of the general renunciation make as part of the US naturalisation ceremony) that renunciation would not be recognised by the UK unless you also made a separate declaration to the Home Secretary - most likely through the UK Border Agency.


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## andyg05 (May 7, 2017)

Many expats retain a UK bank account and maintain a SIPP with, say, Hargreaves Lansdown who offer many suitable US or part-UF funds like Legal & General US Index Cl C and Fundsmith Equity. Bear in mind FATCA (FBAR) issues which cause many UK providers to reject new accounts of “US Persons”.


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## forestial (10 mo ago)

Like the original poster, I am a UK citizen and have a pension in the UK from previous employment there. I am now a US citizen and intend to retire in the US, fairly soon.

I would like to transfer that pension to something located in the US, so that I could more easily manage it and decide when/how to withdraw from it here. I think that this would also be easier from a US compliance point of view since there are many US regulations such as FBAR to be handled with something located outside of the US.

From what I have been able to find out, there is nothing in the US which conforms to the UK's notion of QROPS, so that alternative does not seem possible.

It would seem that a SIPP is the alternative, but like the OP I have found it difficult to locate one of these. MyOnlineSIPP is one, but it looks like it remains in the UK. Is there anything comparable to this which is US based?

Does anyone have experience as a customer of MyOnlineSIPP?


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## forestial (10 mo ago)

forestial said:


> ...
> From what I have been able to find out, there is nothing in the US which conforms to the UK's notion of QROPS, so that alternative does not seem possible.
> ...


As further confirmation of this point, I found the UK govt's list of approved QROPS : there are none in the US. Zero.


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## mjs020294 (5 mo ago)

For UK expats living in the US an International SIPP is the best option for managing their UK pension(s). I also have a standard life pension and the only option to for drawn down a one off payment of 100% of the funds which will be taxed at UK emergency tax rate.

If you transfer it to an International SIPP you can make flexible draw downs and they won't be taxed at source. If you are retiring later than 55 years old and you do not use your full $27,000 401k contribution allowance one option is start drawn downs early and put the money from your UK pension into your US 401k.


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## Ibris77 (3 mo ago)

mjs020294 said:


> For UK expats living in the US an International SIPP is the best option for managing their UK pension(s).


It is not quite clear, which International SIPP providers are there. Most of those I came accross with are offshore providers. Are there any reputable companies people on this forum have had experience with?


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