ISPP vis-a-vis HMRC (for ISPP buy-out)

[El Hachemi Abdelhak]

Do you know how is the ISPP ‘seen’ by HMRC ?
Does the SLB International Retirement Plan qualifies as an overseas pension scheme with benefits equivalent to UK pension benefits ?

In order to calculate the tax in case of a lump sum withdrawal from the ISPP, I think I will need to provide to HMRC the following information:

– The exact legal name of the plan.
– The section describing the lump-sum option.

Which of the following wordings qualifies the ISPP:
“International Retirement Savings Plan (IRSP)”
“International Pension Plan (IPP)”
“US Abroad Pension Plan”
“Defined Contribution”
“Defined Benefit”
“cash balance”
“vested account balance”

Thank you for your help

[Benoit Barbier]

Greetings El Hachemi,

The ISPP is an international pension plan, without link to any country jurisdiction apart from the Isle of Man in terms of how the pension fund is managed. It provides a defined benefit. As it does so for the lifetime of the retiree and then his/her surviving designated beneficiary, there is no such thing as an individual cash balance or vested account balance calculated for each ISPP participant. The cash option which is being proposed by SLB will be a calculation of fair value based on participant and designated beneficiary ages, mortality tables and discounting rate.

I assume that you will consult a UK-based tax advisor to help you once the June 15 communications is out? If yes, you should share with him the description of the ISPP which is one of the documents stored in the My Retirement Portal.

Kind regards,

Benoit

[Author]

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